THEFIRSTMINUTE
HOWTOSTARTCONVERSATIONSTHATGETRESULTS
CHRISFENNING
Copyright©2020byChrisFenning
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorusedinany
mannerwithoutwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightownerexceptfortheuseof
quotationsinabookreview.
Formoreinformation,address:chris@chrisfenning.com
TheFirstMinute
HowtoStartConversationsThatGetResults
ByChrisFenning
BookcoverbyMarkoPolic
Publishedby:AlignmentGroup
20-22WenlockRoad
London
N17GU
FirstpaperbackeditionNovember2020
ISBN978-1-8382440-0-2(paperback)
ISBN978-1-8382440-1-9(hardcover)
ISBN978-1-8382440-2-6(ebook)
ISBN978-1-8382440-3-3(audiobook)
www.chrisfenning.com
CONTENTS
Introduction-iv
Chapter1
Whatisthefirstminute?
1
Chapter2
framing
5
chapter3
structuredsummaries
41
chapter4
timecheckandvalidationcheckpoint71
chapter5
ApplyingTHETechniquesinDifferentSituations
81
Conclusion
113
Resources
115
Acknowledgements
117
INTRODUCTION
Thisbookisastep-bystepguideforstartingclear,concisecommunicationin
everydayworksituations.Thisincludestheconversationsandemailswithyour
teams,peers,andmanagersthataccountforover80percentofyour
communicationatwork.
Thetechniquesdescribedinthisbookarebasedonthefollowingcoreprinciples.
Youmustprepareyouraudiencetoreceiveyourmessagebeforeyoudeliverit.
Peoplearebusy,soyouneedtogettothepointquickly.
Themosteffectiveworkconversationsfocusonactionsandsolutions,noton
problems.
Thereissomecrossoverintosocialcommunication,butthefocusofthisbookis
communicationatwork.
***
Wecommunicatewithdozensandsometimeshundredsofpeopleeverydayat
work.Everyconversationrelatestoadifferenttaskortopic,andtheyallhave
differentgoalsandoutcomes.Eachtimewestartaconversation,weknowwhat
wearegoingtotalkaboutandwhyit’simportant.Unfortunately,thepeoplewe
speaktodon’tknoweitherofthesethings.
Whenwestartcommunicating,ouraudience’sbrainsmustworktounderstand
thecontextofthewords.Theytrytoworkoutwhywearetalkingtothemand
whattheyneedtodowiththeinformation.Ifthesethingsaren’tclearinthefirst
fewsentences,theirmindscreatetheirownversionofthefacts.Thisleadsto
manyproblems,fromwastedtimetoincorrectassumptionsandhigh-cost
mistakes.
AstudybySiemensEnterpriseCommunicationsfoundthatabusinesswithone
hundredemployeesspendsanaverageofseventeenhoursaweekclarifying
communications.¹Thatis884hoursayearthatcouldbespentdeliveringvalue
tocustomersinsteadofrepeatinginformationtomakesureit’sunderstood.To
avoidthisrepetition,everyconversationshouldstartclearlyandconcisely.This
istruewhetheryouarecommunicatingaboutprinterpaperorthelaunchofa
million-dollaradvertisingcampaign.
Eachconversationcanbesetupforsuccessifthecontext,intent,andmessage
areclear.Eventhemostcomplextopicscanbestartedsimplyandclearlyifthey
aresummarizedusingtherightstructure.Itisalsopossibletoachieveallthisin
lessthanaminutebyapplyingthetechniquesinthisbook.
Byfocusingonthefirstminute,youcanpositioneveryworkconversationfor
success.Dothis,andyouwillberecognizedasagreatprofessional
communicator.
Thetechniquesinthisbookshowhowtogivetheinformationyouraudience
actuallyneeds.Thefirstminuteisnotabouttryingtocondenseallthe
informationintosixtyseconds.Itisabouthavingclearintent,talkingaboutone
topicatatime,andfocusingonsolutionsinsteadofdwellingonproblems.
Creatingthemosteffectivefirstminuteofanyworkconversationisatwo-step
process.
Step1:Frametheconversationinfifteensecondsorless.Framingprovides
context,makesyourintentionsclear,andgivesaclearheadline.
Step2:Createastructuredsummaryoftheentiremessageyouneedto
deliver.Statethegoalanddefinetheproblemthatstandsbetweenyouand
achievingthatgoal.Thenfocustheconversationonthesolution.
Byfollowingthesesteps,youcanstartanyworkconversationfeelingconfident
thatyouarecommunicatingclearly.Thisisallpossibleinlessthanaminute,no
matterhowcomplexthetopic.
Throughoutthisbookyou’lldiscoverhowto:
Haveshorter,betterworkconversationsandmeetings
Gettothepointfasterwithoutramblingorgoingoffontangents
Reducetheriskofmistakescausedbypeopleincorrectlyassumingthey
understandyourmessage
Leadyouraudiencetowardthesolutionyouneed
Applyonetechniquetoalmosteveryconversationwithgreatresults
Itdoesn’tmatterwhatyourjobtitleisorwhatlevelyouoccupyinthe
organization;theprinciplesinthisbookwillhelpyoubecomeaclearer,more
concise,andeffectivecommunicator,andyou’llbeabletodoitfast.
Iamgoingtostartbyaddressingthemostcommoncausesofmiscommunication
atwork.
Lackofcontext
Unclearpurpose
Notgettingtothepoint
Mixingupmultipletopicsinthesameconversation
Lengthy,unclearsummaries
You’lllearnhowtoavoidthesepitfallsandhowtosummarizeyourentire
messageinlessthanaminute.Theresultwillbeasummarythatmakesitclear
whatyouaretryingtoachieveandwhatyouwouldlikeyouraudiencetodo.
You’llseehowthistechniqueworksindifferentsituations,industries,andjob
types.
Youwillalsolearnaboutthethreecomponentsofframing—context,intent,and
keymessage—andhowtheseprovidethefoundationforasuccessful
conversation.
Finally,you’lldiscoverthethreecomponentsrequiredofastructuredsummary:
1)thegoalyouaretryingtoachieve,2)theproblemstoppingyoufromreaching
thatgoal,and3)thesolutiontotheproblem.Thesethreethingswillenableyou
tosummarizeanytopic,nomatterhowcomplex.
Thelastsectionofthisbookshowshowtoapplythesetechniquesinawide
varietyofsituations.
Alongthewayyou’llmeetmanagers,softwaredevelopers,secretaries,and
executives;witnessthefrustrationsofmissingoutondessert;ridethe
conversationrollercoaster;learnavaluablelessonincommunicationfromacar
mechanic;andevenlearnwhyitcostssomuchtoputpeopleintospace.
Thisbookisaresultofmorethan20,000conversationsinbothbusinessand
technicaljobs.I’vetrainedindividualsandteamsaroundtheworldinthese
techniques.I’veworkedwithorganizationsfromstart-upstoFortune50and
FTSE100companies.Thesemethodsworkforthemall.
Applythesetechniques,andyouwillhaveshorter,clearerconversationsthatget
results.Itiseasierthanyoumightexpect,anditallstartswiththefirstminute.
CHAPTER1
WHATISTHEFIRSTMINUTE?
Thefirstminutestartswhenyoustarttalkingabouttheworktopic.
Inthecontextofthisbook,thefirstminuteisnotalwaysthestartofthe
interactionwithyouraudience.Itdoesnotincludethegreetingorthetimespent
onpersonalengagement.Throughoutthisbook,thefirstminutereferstothestart
oftheworkconversation.Theclockstartswhenyoushiftfrompersonalto
professionaltopics.
Manybooksdescribehowtostartconversationsthatestablishandbuild
relationships.Othersshowyouhowtomakeagreatfirstimpressioninan
intervieworonadate.Stillmoreshowyouhowtostartchallenging
conversationstherightway.Whatnoneofthosebooksteachishowtostart
conversationsaboutnormal,everydayworktopics.
Itispossibletomakeagreatfirstimpressionwithacolleague,onlytoruinthat
impressionwhentheconversationshiftstowork.Itdoesn’tmatterhowmuch
peoplelikeyou;ifyoucannotdeliverinformationinanorganizedway,youwill
haveahardtimebeingrespectedprofessionally.
WHYISTHEFIRSTMINUTEIMPORTANT?
Thewaywecommunicateatworkinfluenceshowpeoplethinkaboutus.Itcan
impacttheopportunitieswegetordon’tget,andtheconsequencescanbe
significant.Poorcommunicationskillsareoneofthetopreasonswhypeople
don’tgetpromoted.²Thisisespeciallytrueforpeopleapplyingforleadership
positions.
Wespendovereighthoursatworkeveryweekday.Over50percentofthattime
isspentcommunicatingeitherverballyorthroughwriting.³Thatisalotoftime.
Allthoseinteractionsleaveeitheragoodorabadimpressionaboutourabilityto
communicate.
Howwouldyourateyourcommunicationskills?Doyouleaveagood
impression,oristhereroomforimprovement?
Ifyouarereadingthisandthinkingit’stoolateforyou—you’vealreadymadea
badfirstimpression,andthere’snopointtryingtofixit—don’tdespair!You
mayhavehadsomelessthanidealconversationsatwork,butyoucanturnit
aroundandbecomearolemodelforclearcommunication.
Researchshowsthatpoorfirstimpressionscanbereversedbyaconsistent
strongperformance.Ittakeseightgoodimpressionstooverturnabadone.⁴That
maysoundlikealot,butwehavesomanyinteractionsatworkthatitdoesn’t
takelongtohaveeightconversationswithsomeone.Forexample,ifyouhave
oneconversationeverydaywithacolleague,youcangofrombeingregardedas
apoorcommunicatortobeingseenasagreatoneinlessthantwoweeks.When
youfactorinemailsandmeetings,thenumberoftimesyoucommunicatewith
someoneeachdaygoesup,andtheturnaroundtimeisevenshorter.
Whatwouldyougivetogofrombeingseenasapoororaveragecommunicator
tobeingseenasagreatcommunicatorinjusteightconversations?
Plus,whileyoumayhavesomeworktodotochangetheimpressionsofthe
peopleyouworkwith,therearemanymorechancestogivefirstimpressions
whenyoumeetandworkwithnewpeopleinotherteamsandinnewcompanies
asyourcareerprogresses.
Inthecomingchapters,you’lllearnhowtocreateagreatfirstminutenomatter
whatyouwanttotalkaboutatwork.Whenyouapplythistoallyourwork
conversations,itwillbecomeanaturalpartofhowyouconveyinformation,
makerequests,andengageinallothertypesofdailyworkcommunication.
CHAPTER2
FRAMING
Framinghappensinthefirst
fifteensecondsofaconversation.
“Framinghelpsindividualsinterpretdata.”–ErvingGoffman
Theproblemwithstartingconversationsaboutworktopicsisthatwearenever
taughthowtodoit.Mostprofessionalshavefourteentoeighteenyearsof
schoolingandyetdon’tgetasinglelessononhowtostartconversationsabout
worktopics.Nowonderwehavesomanyineffectiveconversationsatwork.
Justoveradecadeago,Iwasasoftwareprojectmanagerforatelecomcompany
overseeingthedeliveryofsoftwareonnewmobilephonestobesoldacross
Europe.Wehadatleasteightcomplexprojectsrunningatanyonetime,mostof
theminvolvinghundredsofpeopleinmanycountries.
Likemanylargeprojects,wehadourshareofcommunicationissues,butit
wasn’ttheoccasionalbreakdownincommunicationthatcausedusproblems.
Ourteamsseemedtostrugglewithday-to-daycommunications.Everyoneonthe
projectssaidtheproblemwaslanguagebarriersandculturaldifferencesthat
comewithworkingacrossacontinent.ButthemoreIobservedtheteams,the
moreIrealizedsomethingelsewascausingthefrustration.
TheissuebecamerealformeonedaywhenIwaswalkingtolunch.Steve,a
memberofmytestingteam,stoppedmejustoutsidethecafeteria.Hestarted
talkingaboutanissuewithatestcaseononeofhisprojects.Afterafew
minutes,Iinterruptedhim.“I’msorry,”Isaid.“Whatprojectisthisfor?”
“Oh,thisisfortheLT-10program.”Thenhecarriedontalkingabouttheissue.
Havingfoundouttheprojectname,someoftheinformationhegavemademore
sense.TheLT-10projectwasahigh-profileproductlaunchdueinthenextfew
weeks.Hehadmyattentionnow,andIrefocusedonhisexplanation.
Afewmoreminutespassed,anditstillwasn’tclearwhattheissuewasorwhyI
neededtoknowaboutit.
Alargegroupofpeoplewalkedpastusandjoinedthelunchline,whichnow
extendedintothecorridor.Withagrowlingstomachandanimageofanempty
dessertcounter,IwaitedforStevetofinishhiscurrentthought.“Iheardalotof
interestingthingsthere,”Isaid.“IstheresomethingspecificIcanhelpwith?”
Stevelookedconfused.“Oh,”hesaid,“Ithoughtyoumightwanttoknowwe’ll
missthetestingdeadline.Ineedyourapprovaltomovethego-livedateouta
month.”
Thisrevelationchangedthenatureoftheinteractionsignificantly.Thiswasabig
deal.ThemanufacturerhadmillionsofdollarsofTVadvertisingspendlockedin
fortheendofthemonth.Therewasnowaywecouldmissthedeadline.
Theimagesofdessertfled,andIaskedStevetostartagainfromthebeginning.
Thistimethedetailshesharedmademoresense.Iwasabletoaskclarifying
questionstohelpmedecidethebestcourseofaction.
Thesituationhighlightedakeyissueinthewayourteamscommunicated.Ifit
tookalmosttenminutestosaywehadamajorissueonaflagshipprogram,we
hadacommunicationproblem.Anditwasabiggerproblemthan“cultural
differences”couldcause.
Question:Haveyoueverbeenonthereceivingendofaconversationlikethe
oneIhadwithSteve?
Ifyouansweredno,youprobablyworkwithpeoplewhoknowhowtogetthe
firstminuterightwhentheycommunicate.Ifyouansweredyes,considerthe
followingquestions:
Doesithappenoften?
Didtheeventualrevelationofwhatwasneededchangethewayyoureactedto
theinformation?
Wasitanefficientuseoftimeforyouandtheotherpersonorpeopleinvolved?
Here’saharderquestionforyou:Haveyoueverstartedconversationslikethe
oneintheexample?
Inmylivetrainingsessions,thisisthepointwhentheaudiencefallssilent.
Eventually,Iseesomereluctantnodsaspeoplerealizetheyoftenstarttheir
conversationsthisway.
Confessiontime:Ihavestartedconversationsliketheoneintheexample.In
fact,Iusedtostartmostofmyconversationsthisway.Iwassofocusedonthe
topicIwantedtotalkabout,Iforgotthatotherpeopledidn’thavethesame
informationasme.ThismeantIstartedmanyconversationsinanunstructured
andunclearway.
Afewweeksafterthelunchtimecorridorconversation,theincidentwasstillin
myhead.Iwantedtoknowwhatwecoulddotobeclearerandgettothepoint
fasterwhensharinginformationatwork.Istartedstudyingtheconversationsin
myteamsandbegantonoticecommonthemes.Itbecameclearthatmanywork
conversationsstartedwiththefollowingissues.
Failingtoprovidecontextforthemessage.Thishappenswhentheaudiencedoesn’tknowwhatthe
topicisabout.
Nothavingaclearpurposeforthemessage.Thishappenswhentheaudiencedoesn’tknowwhythey
arereceivingtheinformation.
Notgettingtothepointfastenough.Thespeakersharesalotofinformationandtakestoolongtoget
tothecriticalpartofhisorhermessage.
Mixinguptwoormoretopicsinthesameconversation.Thespeakerhastwoor
moretopicstodiscuss,butitisn’tclearwhattheyare.
Eachofthesemistakescanbeavoidedbystartingtheconversationwiththree
shortstatements.Thesestatementsarerequiredforeveryworkconversationto
startwithclarity.
Context:Thisisthetopicyouwanttotalkabout.Ofallthetopicsinthe
world,thisistheoneyouwilltalkaboutnow.
Intent:Whatyouwanttheaudiencetodowiththeinformationyouare
abouttoshare.
Keymessage:Themostimportantpartoftheoverallmessageyouareabout
todeliver(theheadline).
Theseelementsremainthesamenomatterwhatthetopicis,whoistalking,and
whoislistening.Whenusedtogetherintherightorder,thesethreeelements
frameyourmessage.
Framingisthesimplestwaytoprepareanaudiencetoreceiveyourmessage
beforeyougointodetail.Itletstheaudienceknowwhatisexpectedofthem
rightfromthestart.Clearframingensurestheyunderstandthecoreofthe
messagewithinafewsentences.
Framingshouldtakenomorethanthreesentencesandbedeliveredinlessthan
fifteenseconds.
Intheexampleabove,ifStevehadstartedhisconversationwithmewith
framing,wewouldnothaveneededtorepeatthefirsttenminutes.
Therearelotsofwaystoframeatopic.Hereareacoupleofexamples.
“Hi,we’reworkingonthetestingfortheLT-10project.Ineedyourhelpbecause
wehaveatestingissueandaregoingtomissthedeadline.”
“We’retestingtheLT-10;youshouldknowwe’regoingtobelate.”
Bothoftheseexamplesprovidecontextbynamingtheproject.Thefirstexample
clarifiestheintentbystatingtheneedforhelp.Thesecondexamplehasthe
intentofdeliveringnews.Bothdeliverthekeymessageaboutamisseddeadline,
thoughthesecondexampleismoreefficient.
Thesemayseemabrupt,butthepointisn’ttoconveyyourentiremessagein
fifteenseconds.Thepointistoletyouraudienceknowwhatyouaregoingto
talkabout,sotheyaren’tguessingforthefirstfewminutesoftheconversation.
Ifthefirstlinesofyourmessageprovidecontext,intent,andakeymessage,you
willhaveclearerconversationseverytime.
>>Activity<<
Howwelldoyoustartyourworkcommunication?Grabthelastimportantemail
yousent.Thelongertheemailis,thebetteritwillworkforthisactivity.While
muchofthisbookdescribeshowtostartconversations,theprinciplesarethe
sameforwrittenformsofcommunicationaswell.Ourmemoriesarenotas
reliableaswethink,andusinganemailforthisactivitywillhelpyouseeexactly
whatyouwrote.
Didyouprovidecontext,showclearintent,anddeliverakeymessageupfront?
Ifyoudidn’ttickalltheboxes,don’tworry.Inthenextsections,youwilllearn
aboutthethreecorecomponentsofframingandhowtoapplythemcorrectly.In
theprocess,you’llseehoweasyitistomakeasimpleyetpowerfulchangeto
thewayyoustartyourconversations.
CONTEXT
“Withoutcontext,apieceofinformationisjustadot.
Itfloatsinyourbrainwithalotofotherdotsanddoesn’tmeanathing.”
–MichaelVentura
Whenyoustarttalkingorwritinganemail,youalreadyknowthecontextofthe
topic.It’sinyourhead.andyou’veprobablybeenthinkingaboutitforawhile.
Unfortunately,youraudiencedoesn’thavethebenefitofthatknowledge.They
mighthavenoideawhatprojectyouaretalkingaboutorwhatproblemyouwant
todiscuss.Theyalmostcertainlyhaveotherthingsontheirminds,suchasother
work,budgetissues,whattohaveforlunch,aproblemathome,andsoon.
Whatevertheyarethinkingabout,itisunlikelytobethethingyouwanttotalk
about.
Beforeyoustarttalkingaboutthedetailsofyourmessage,youneedtoprovide
somecontext.Youneedtoorientyouraudience,soyouarestartingatthesame
point.
Thisiseasytodoifyoustartyourmessagewithasimplecontext-based
statement.
Nametheprojectortheissue.
Nametheprocess,system,ortoolyouwilltalkabout.
Givethenameofthecustomerwithwhomyouareworking.
Namethetaskorobjectiveyouwanttotalkabout.
Theoptionsareendless.Thekeyistogivethecontextquickly,soyouraudience
knowsthetopicorareayouaregoingtotalkabout.
Withoutcontext,theaudienceisnotonthesamepageasyou.Theywillbe
distractedtryingtoworkoutwhatthetopicofthediscussionis.Startinga
conversationwithclearcontextfocusesyouraudienceonthetopicyouwantto
talkaboutandhelpsfilterouttheotherthingsthatareintheirheads.
Aretheresituationswherecontextisn’tneededatthestartofawork
conversation?
No.Contextisalwaysneededwhenstartinganewconversationatwork.
Thereareafewscenarioswhereitappearsthatcontextisn’tneeded,but
appearancesaredeceptive.Forexample,ifyouaretalkingtoateammember
aboutaprojectonwhichyouhavecollaboratedcloselyforweeks,itmayseem
likeyoudon’tneedtoprovidetheprojectnameascontextfortheconversation.
Eveninthiscase,atthemomentyouwanttotalktoyourcolleagueaboutthe
project,heorshecouldhaveanynumberofotherthingsinhisorherhead.Even
ifyourcolleagueisthinkingabouttheproject,thechanceheorsheisthinking
aboutthespecifictopicyouwanttotalkaboutistiny.Intheunlikelyeventyour
colleagueisthinkingaboutthesametopicasyou,youwon’tloseanythingby
providingcontext.
Neverassumetheotherpersonknowswhatyouaretalkingabout.Itonlytakesa
fewsecondstoprovidecontext,andthatwillavoidalotofconfusion.Infact,
youwillgainpositiveengagementbyconfirmingyoubothwanttotalkaboutthe
samething.
Herearesomeexamplesofcontextsthatyoumayneedtoprovideineveryday
worksituations.
I’mworkingonprojectABC...
Iwasreviewingthenewinformationsecuritypolicy...
We’reclosingthesaleontheJeffersonaccount...
I’mabouttosubmitarequestfortimeoff...
Ireadthemarketingreportyousentme...
Theofficesupplieshavearrived...
Thenewbudgetcameout...
Iwanttorewardmyteam...
(listcontinued)
I’mplanningtheofficeparty...
We’rereviewingthepolicyforXYZ...
Mycarbrokedown...
Thekitchensinkisleaking...
Theselinesareshort,clear,andeachonetakeslessthanfivesecondstosay.
Theoptionsforwhattoprovideascontextareasvariedasthenumberofjobs
andsituationsthatexistintheworld.Despitethisvariety,onlyonethingis
requiredwhenprovidingcontext:makeitclearwhatyouwanttotalkabout.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Lookagainattheemailyouchoseinthepreviouschapter.Doesitprovideclear
context?Whatwouldyouchangetomakethecontextclearer?
INTENT
“Tellmewhatyouwant,whatyoureally,reallywant.”
–TheSpiceGirls
Nowthatyou’veprovidedcontextandgottentheaudienceonthesamepageas
you,it’stimetoletthemknowwhatyouneedthemtodowiththeinformation
youareabouttoshare.
Makeitclearwhyyouarecommunicating
Wheneverwereceiveinformation,ittakesourbrainsafewmomentstoworkout
whattodowithit.⁵Wetrytoworkoutifwehavetoansweraquestion,ifthe
speakerislookingforaresponse,whetherweneedtotakeactionormakea
decision,andsoon.Ourbrainsdothisallday,everyday.Weprocess
informationandtrytoworkouttheappropriateresponse.Thismeansthatwhen
youcommunicate,youraudience’sbrainsaretryingtoworkoutwhattodowith
yourmessage.Theyaredoingthisevenbeforeyougettothepoint.
Thelongerittakestostatethepurposeofyourmessage,thegreaterthechance
youraudiencewillformtheiropinionofyourintent.Theimpactsofthisrange
fromminortosevere.Theaudiencecouldmakeanincorrectassumption.They
coulddecidethemessageisn’timportantortakeunnecessaryaction.The
consequencesoftheseresponsesvarydependingonthesituation.
Whenyourevealyourrealintentions,theconversationmayneedtorestart,and
youraudiencewillneedtoreprocesstheinformationwiththecorrectfilter.
Example:
Emmaclosedherlaptopandstartedtopackupherdesk.Sheneededtobeonthe
roadinthenextfifteenminutestogettotheoffsitestrategymeeting.Asshewas
abouttoleave,hercolleagueDanielstuckhisheadaroundthedoor.
“Doyouhaveaminute?”heasked.“It’saboutTechCorp.”
“I’vegotafewminutes,”Emmareplied,checkingherwatch.TechCorpwasa
topicinthestrategymeeting,andDanielwasthemaincontactfortheiraccount.
Ifsomethinghadhappenedthatwasn’tinhernotes,shewouldneedtoknow
aboutit.
“Great,”Danielsaid.Hesteppedintoherofficeandshookhishead.“You’ll
neverguesswhattheydidthistime.”
“You’reright,”Emmareplied.“Whydon’tyoufillmein.”
“Theyjustreleasedanimprovementtotheirsoftware.Theycannowsupportall
thechangeswewant.”
“That’sgreat,”Emmasaid.Akeypartoftheirgrowthstrategyhingedon
TechCorpbeingabletosupportmoredata.Thiswasexactlywhatsheneededto
knowforthestrategymeeting.
“Notexactly,”Danielreplied.
“Whatdoyoumean?”
“Thechangesupportsthenewfeatureswewant,butitstoppedallthecurrent
datagettingtotheirsystem.It’samajormistake.”
ThegoodfeelingEmmahadamomentbeforefled,replacedwithconcern.She
begantoworkthroughtheimplicationsofthesystembeingdown.Hermind
racedthroughcontingencyplansandcallsshewouldneedtomake.TechCorp
processedallmembershipfornewsales.Iftheprocesswasn’tworking,itmeant
aseriousdisruptiontotheircustomers.
“Whendidthishappen?”sheasked.
“Lastnight,”Danielsaid.
“Thesystemhasbeendownallmorning?Whywasn’tthisraisedassoonasit
happened?”
Danielexplainedhowhisteamfoundtheissueinthetestingphaseofthe
softwarereleaseprocess.Aftertheyfoundtheissue,theunplannedupdatewas
removedbeforeitimpactedanycustomers.Hestressedthatthetestingprocesses
hadworkedwellbecausetheycaughttheissuebeforeitaffectedanycustomers.
Unfortunately,intheprocessofremovingtheproblem,TechCorpuncovered
anotherpreviouslyunknownissuethathadevenbiggerimplications.
Eachtimethestorytookanotherturn,Emmaalternatedbetweenconcernand
relief.Despitetheupsanddowns,theinformationseemedtohaveapositive
trend.Hermainconcernwasthatshedidn’tknowwhatDanielwantedhertodo.
TechCorpwasacorepartofthestrategyforthenextthreeyears.Shehadto
knowifthisissueaffectedtheplanbeforetheexecutiveteamfinalizeditthat
afternoon.
“Thissoundsserious,”Emmasaid,jumpinginduringabreakinDaniel’s
monologue.“Doweneedtofindanothersupplier?”
“Ohno,”Danielsaid,“theyfoundawayarounditthismorning.”
Bythispoint,Emmahadlosttrackofwhethertheyhadaproblemornot.“I’m
sorry,Daniel,butI’mconfused.IstheresomethingspecificIneedtoknowabout
TechCorpbeforemymeeting?”
Daniellookedsurprised.“Ohno,everythingisgreat.Theyfixedeverything.I
justthoughtyouwouldfindthisinteresting.There’sneveradullmomentaround
here.Anyway,Ishouldletyougo.Haveagoodtimeatthestrategysession.”
Question:Howoftendoesthishappentoyou?
Whatdoyoudoiffiveminutesintoaconversationyouarestillunclearonwhat
thepersonneedsyoutodo?Howmucheffortdoyouspendtryingtoworkout
whattodowiththeinformation?
Tip:Ifyoufindyourselfinthissituation,andmorethanaminutehas
elapsedwithoutthepurposeoftheconversationbeingclear,askthespeaker
toclarifyhisorherintentions.Thiswillhelpyoubothgetthemostoutof
theconversation.
INTENTCHANGESTHEWAYOURBRAINSPROCESS
INFORMATION
Ourbrainsprocessandstoreinformationindifferentwaysdependingonthe
purpose.Weprocessinformationindifferentwaysifweknowitisentertainment
versusatopicweneedtolearn.Weonlyhaveabouttwentysecondsofrecallin
ourworkingmemory. Thattimeenablesustosortthroughinformationand
workoutwhattodowithit.This,inturn,defineshowtheinformationisstored
inourbrains.Ifaspeakertakesmorethantwentysecondstoclarifyhisorher
intent,ourbrainsstopprocessingthefirstthingthepersonsaidandtrytoprocess
themostrecenttwentysecondsofinformation.
Whenwedon’tknowtheotherperson’sintention,westruggletoprocessthe
informationprovided.Thisisevenharderifthemessagecontainsamixofgood
andbadnews.Thelackofclearintentleadstosomethingofaconversational
rollercoasteraswetrytofollowthetwistsandturnsofthetopic.
ForEmma,therollercoasterstartedwhenDanielsaidtherewasaproblem,and
shestartedtothinkaboutcontingencyplans.Withoutaclearintent,herbrain
assumedtherewasanissuetoresolve.Shewasthinkingaboutactionstotake
whenshedidn’tneedtobe.Inthiscase,theonlyimpactwasadelayforEmma
leavingforhermeeting.Itcouldhavebeenmuchworse.Ifshehadleftforthe
meetingwithoutDanielclarifyingwhatsheneededtodowiththeinformation,
thestrategywithTechCorpcouldhavechangedwithuntoldconsequencesfor
bothcompanies.
Thelongerittakesfortheaudiencetounderstandthepurposeofthemessage,
themorelikelytheyaretoguess.Thismeanstheaudienceisnotprocessingthe
informationinthewayyouwantorneedthemto.Worsethanthat,whenthe
audiencedoesn’tknowwhattodowithinformation,theirbrainsdon’tretainitas
easilyandmaylabelitasunimportant.
Byclarifyingyourintentinthefirstfewlinesofyourmessage,yougiveyour
audiencethekeytocorrectlyinterpretingandreactingtotheinformation.
SHOWINGINTENTINONELINE
Mostwork-relatedintentionsfallintooneoffivecategories.Foreachcategory,
itispossibletodescribetheintentofthemessageinoneline.Thetablebelow
showsthecategoriesandsomeexamplesofhowtoshowintentinashort
sentence.
CategoryofIntention Examples
Needinghelp/advice/input Canyouhelpme?Weneedyourinput.Ineedsomeadvice.Canyouexplainsomething?
Requestingaction CanyouprovideanupdateonABC?CanyousendthecontracttoZoe?
Wantingadecision WeneedadecisiononXYZ.
Lettingsomeoneknowsomethingisabouttohappen,sotheyarenotsurprised Headsup,somethingisabouttohappenonABC.Youneedtoknowthisbeforeyoutalktotheclient.
Providinginformation/inputtheotherpersonaskedforpreviously Heresthereportyouaskedfor.Herestheinformationyourequested.
Thislistofcategoriesmayseemshort,butalmosteverythingwecommunicateat
workfallsintooneofthem.Forexample:
Ifyouaretellingsomeoneaboutanissueorproblem,whatdoyouexpecthimor
hertodowiththeinformation?Youeitherneedhelp,advice,someonetotake
action,oryouaregivingtheotherpersonaheads-up.
Ifyouareabouttosubmitanorderforofficesupplies,youmightasksomeone
fortheitemstheywanttoadd.Thisisarequestforaction.
Aswithprovidingcontext,itonlytakesafewwordstomakeyourintentclear.
Usingalineliketheonesshowninthetablewillletyouraudienceknowwhat
theyneedtodowiththeinformation.
Ifallyourinteractionsatworkstartedwithashortstatementofintent,itwould
becleareverytimewhatyouneededtheaudiencetodowiththeinformation.It
wouldalsohelpthemdecideiftheyhavetimefortheconversationorifthey
wanttotalkaboutitlaterinstead.
Whatifyoujustwanttotalk?
Thereisonemorereasonyoumightwanttotalktosomeonethatisn’tinthe
table:wantingtochat.Thiscoversawiderangeoftopics,includingsharing
stories,recountingrecentevents,gossiping,lettingoffsteamwithoutany
expectationofadviceorhelp,andgeneralconversationsunrelatedtowork.
Ifyouaregoingtotalkaboutsomethinginthe“wantingtotalk”category,
considershowingyourintentusingastatementlike:
“Ihaveafunnystorytoshare...”
“Youmightfindthisinteresting...”
Youcanalsoaskaquestioninsteadofmakingastatement.
“Doyouhavetimeforafunnystory?”
“WouldyouliketoknowwhathappenedwithXYZ?”
“CanIventforaminute?”
Intheearlierexample,Emmadidn’tknowwhattodowiththeinformation
Danielwasgivingher.Intheend,shehadtoask,“IstheresomethingspecificI
canhelpwith?”Danielcouldhaveshownhisintentandsetexpectationsfor
Emmawithalinelike,“IhadacrazymorningwithTechCorp.Wouldyouliketo
hearaboutit?”Evensomethingassimpleas“It’snoturgent”or“Hey,funny
story...”wouldhavemadeitcleartherewasn’tanissue.Anyofthese
statementswouldhavesavedEmmatenminutesofworryandgivenhera
chancetodefertheconversationuntilaftertheplanningmeeting.
COMBININGCONTEXTANDINTENT
Whenyougiveintentandcontextatthestartofaconversation,itisclearwhat
theconversationwillbeabout.Inthepreviousexample,Danielprovidedgreat
contextbyaskingtotalkaboutTechCorp.Unfortunately,hefailedtoclarifythe
purposeoftheconversation.
Hereisanexampleofhowhecouldhaveprovidedaclearcontextandintentat
thestart.
“Hi,canItalktoyouaboutTechCorp?It’snoturgent,butIthoughtyoumight
finditfunny.”
Thisisshort,simple,andclear.Emmacouldhaveevaluatedthetopicand
decidedtolistenortodefertheconversationtoalatertime.
Let’slookattheexamplesofcontextfromtheprevioussectionandaddsome
intentstatements.
“I’mworkingonprojectABC.Ineedyouradvice.”
“I’mworkingonprojectABC.Weneedtomakeadecision.”
“Iwasreviewingthenewinformationsecuritypolicy.There’ssomethingyou
needtoknow.”
“We’reclosingthesaleontheJeffersonaccount.I’vegotsomegoodnews.”
“I’mabouttosubmitarequestfortimeoffforanditneedsyourapproval.”
“IreadthemarketingreportyousentmeandIthinkwehaveanopportunity.”
“Theofficesuppliesarrivedandthere’saproblemwiththedelivery.”
“Thenewbudgetcameout.Here’sthesummaryreport.”
“Iwanttorewardmyteam.Canyouhelpme?”
“I’mplanningtheofficepartyandyoushouldknow...”
“Thekitchensinkisleaking!Canyouhelpme?”
Thelongestoftheseexamplesisfifteenwords,andtheshortestisonlynine.
Thatmeansinlessthantenwordsyoucanprepareyouraudiencetobeinthe
rightframeofmindtohearyourmessage.
Imagineifeveryinteractionatworkstartedwithoneofthesentencesabove.It
wouldbecleareverytimewhattheaudiencecouldexpectfromtherestofthe
conversation.Theywouldimmediatelybeintherightframeofmindtoreceive
theinformationyouneedtoshare.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Takeanotherlookattheemailyouusedinthepreviousactivities.Istheintent
clear?Isitstated?Isitimplied?Orisitmissing?
Iftheintentisimpliedormissing,therecipientmightnothaveunderstood
exactlywhyyousenttheemailtothem.Ifyoucouldwritetheemailagain,what
wouldyouchangetomakeyourintentclearer?
KEYMESSAGE
“Simpleandtothepointisalwaysthebestwaytogetyourpointacross.”
—GuyKawasaki
Havingprovidedcontextandclearlystatedyourintent,it’stimetodeliveryour
keymessage.
Yourkeymessageisthelinethatcontainsthemostimportantpieceof
informationyouraudienceneedstoknow.Thekeymessagedoesn’thaveto
summarizeeverydetailofthetopicyouwanttotalkabout,butitdoeshavetobe
themostimportantmessageyouneedtocommunicate.
Ifyou’veeverfoundyourselflisteningtosomeoneandwondering,“Whyare
theytellingmethis?”itmaybebecausetheyhadn’tmadetheirintentclear,butit
couldalsobebecausetheyhaven’tgivenyouthekeymessageearlyenough.
Deliveringcriticalinformationearlyinyourcommunicationisanimportantpart
ofbeingagoodcommunicator.ThefollowingexamplewillshowyouwhatI
mean.
Notlongafterlearningtodrive,IpurchasedanoldBMW.Itwasaterrible
decision.Thatoldcarhadsomanyproblems,itwasinthegaragemoreoften
thanitwasontheroad.Wheneveritbrokedown,Ihadthecartowedtothesame
garageandhadthesamemechanicworkonit.Notonlywasheabletofix
anything,healsoknewhowtocommunicatethethingshiscustomerscared
aboutmost.
Aftercheckingoutthecauseofthelatestbreakdown,hewouldgivemethe
news.HeknewthethingIcaredaboutmost.It’sthesamethinganyonecares
mostaboutwhentheircarisinthegarage.Howmuchwillitcost,andhowlong
willIbewithoutmycar?Hedidn’trunthroughthelonglistofworkhehadto
doorgivemealistofpartsthatneededreplacing.Hestartedwiththetotalcost
torepairandhowlongitwouldtaketocomplete.Hence,Ialwaysknewthemost
importantinformationatthestartoftheconversation.
Aftergivingmethepriceandthetimeframetodotherepairs,hewouldtalk
throughasmuchdetailasIwanted.He’danswermyquestionsandgiveoptions
tomakethetimetorepairitshorterorthecostlower.Theseconversations
allowedmetogettothelevelofunderstandingIneededtojustifythecost.Iwas
abletofocusonthedetailoftheseconversationsbecauseIalreadyknewthekey
message.Iftheconversationsweretheotherwayaround,withthedetailsfirst,I
wouldn’thavewantedthedetail.Iwouldhavebeendistracted,wonderingwhat
thetotalcostwouldbe.
Ilearnedtwoimportantlessonsfromowningthatcar:
Don’tbuyanoldcar.
Peopleusuallywanttoknowthekeymessageupfront.
YousawanexampleofthisinmycorridorconversationwithSteveinregardto
theLT-10testing.Thekeymessagewasthedelayandthemisseddeadline.That
wasthe“Sowhat?”,themostimportantinformationIneededtoknow.
Everythingelsehesaidrelatedtoandbuiltuptothatonekeymessage.Ifthat
keymessagehadcomeatthestartoftheconversation,Iwouldhavebetter
understoodtherestofthedetail.
Onesignthatyouarenotgivingaclearkeymessageisifpeoplerespondwith
thefollowingquestionsorphrases:
“Whyareyoutellingmethis?”
“Istheresomethingyouneedmetodo?”
“I’mnotsurewhattodowiththatinformation.”
“Sowhat?”
Theresponseyougetmaynotbeexactlythesewords,butiftheysaysomething
similar,it’sastrongindicatoryouhaven’tgivenaclearkeymessage.
Thistypeofresponsecanalsomeantheintentofyourmessageisn’tclear,but
evenwithaclearintent,youraudiencecanbeconfusedifyourkeymessageisn’t
obvious.Forexample,ifyoumakeyourintentclearwithastatementlike“Ineed
someadvice”butthenstarttalkingwithouthavingaclearkeymessage,your
audiencewillnotknowwhatyouneedadviceabout.
Sometimesyouraudiencemayrepeatyourmessagebacktoyouinoneortwo
lines.Thiscouldbeasignofactivelisteningtechniques.Itcouldalsomeanyour
messagewasn’tclear,andtheyaretryingtomakesenseofit.Ifyouraudience
summarizesyourmessage,andtheyhaven’tunderstoodwhatyouintended,
clarifythekeymessagebeforeprovidinganynewinformation.Continuingthe
conversationwithyouraudiencehavinganincorrectkeymessageguarantees
confusionlateron.Iftheirsummarymakesyouthink,“Yes,that’swhatImeant
tosay,”itindicatesthekeymessagecouldhavebeenclearer.Inthiscaseyou
don’tneedtorestateyourmessage;youcanconfirmtheyhavetheright
understandingandthencontinue.
AnyonefamiliarwithcommunicationintheUnitedStatesmilitarywillhave
comeacrossthetermBLUF.Thisacronymstandsfor“BottomLineUpFront.”⁷
Thisisthepracticeofputtingtheconclusionandrecommendationatthe
beginningofthemessageratherthanattheend.Thisfacilitatesrapiddecision
makingandhelpspeopledeliveramessageinfewerwords.Puttingthebottom
lineupfrontisagreatwaytodefinethekeymessage.It’stheonethingyour
audienceneedstoknoworcaresthemostabout.
Thequestionslistedabovecanbeusefultohelpyoupreparefortalkingto
someone.Whenframingamessage,askyourselfthefollowingquestions:Why
amItellingthemthis?IstheresomethingIneedthemtodo?Iftheanswers
aren’tcleartoyou,theycertainlywon’tbecleartoyouraudience.These
questionscanalsohelpidentifyifyoureallyneedtocommunicatesomethingor
ifyoujustwanttotalk,gossip,orletoffsteam.Ifyoujustwanttotalk,make
suretoframetheconversationwiththatintent,soyouraudienceisn’ttryingto
workoutwhattheyneedtodowiththeinformation.
HOWTOCREATEGOODKEYMESSAGES
Beforeyoustarttalkingorwritinganemail,thinkaboutallthedetailsyoucould
share,andthenimagineyouraudienceasking“Sowhat?”
Oftentheanswertothisquestionisasimpledescriptionofthemostimportant
andimpactfulpartofyourtopic.
“Sowhat?”doesn’talwaysmeandescribingwhathappened.Itmightmean
statingtheconsequencesofanevent.Oftentheimplicationsaremoresignificant
thantheeventitself.Ifthatistrue,theimpactmightbethekeymessage.
Let’slookatsomeexamplestoseehowthisworks.
Example#1
“IwastalkingtoAnneandshetoldmethingsaregoingwellwiththeDavison
Group.Theyhavesomeconcernsaboutourabilitytohandletheirnewest
products.It’snothingwecan’tworkouttogether,andtheyagreedtocontinue.
Apparently,theylikedourpresentationandwouldliketosignadealfor$50
million.Ethanissendingoverthepaperworknow,andit’llallbedonebythe
endoftheday.”
Inthisexample,thekeymessagewasclosingthedealwithabignewclient.All
theeventsandinformationleadinguptothatwerelessimportantandburiedthe
goodnews.Themostimportantpieceofinformationintheupdateisthesigning
ofahigh-valueclient.Thisshouldbestatedfirst,nothiddentowardtheend.
Keymessage=WeareclosingtheDavisonGrouptoday.
Ifthisconversationstartedwiththenewsaboutclosingthenewclient,therestof
theinformationwouldhavehadmoremeaning.Theaudiencecouldhaveshared
intheexcitementinsteadofwonderingwherethestorywasleading.
Thisexampleishowmanyeverydayconversationsoccur.Weshareinformation,
includingthehighsandlowsandthetwistsandturnsofthestory.Ourstories
alsotendtocomeoutintheorderthattheeventsoccurred.Bysharingeventsin
theorderthattheyhappened,weautomaticallyleavetheoutcome(theresult,and
usuallythemostimportantthing)untiltheend.Thiscanturnasimpleupdate
intoarambling,long-windedstory.
Inaddition,whenwetalkthroughthehighsandlows,weleadtheaudience
throughthemtoo.Whentheaudiencedoesn’tknowhowthestoryends,theyfeel
eachhighorlowasifitwerethepotentialoutcome.
Example#2
“Wewereworkingonthesystemenhancementsthesalesteamaskedforlast
month.Wereleasedapatchlastnighttotestthenewdatabaseconnections,but
somethingdidn’twork.Nowthesalesteamcan’tusethesystem.Itmightbea
problembecausewethinkitwilltakesometimetofix,maybeaweek.”
Inthisexample,thekeymessageisthelossofthesalessystemforaweek.
Everythingelseisbackgrounddetailaboutthehowandthewhyofthesituation.
Theaudiencemayaskquestionsabouthowthishappened,butfirst,theyneedto
knowthe“Sowhat?”
Keymessage=Thesalessystemisdown,anditwilltakeuptoaweektofix.
Afifty-seven-worddescriptioncancondenseintothirteenwords.Notonlyisthe
messagedeliveredfaster,theimportantinformationisclearer.
Thisexampleisshort.Itonlytakeshalfaminutetosayallfifty-sixwordsinthe
originalversion,anditdoesn’ttakelongtogettothepoint.Butwhatwouldhave
happenedifitwerelonger?Howlongwouldittakeforyoutowonderwhatthe
pointofthemessagewas?
Thinkabouttheconversationsyou’vehadatworkthathavetakentwo,five,or
eventenminutestogettothepoint.Howoftendoyouhavetowaitalongtime
beforeyouunderstandthe“Sowhat?”ofthemessage?Doanyofyour
conversationstakelongerthannecessarytogettothepoint?Ifyes,tryframing
thetopicandputtingthekeymessageinthefirstfifteenseconds.
Onemoreexample.Itshowstheconversationrollercoastercausedbynothaving
aclearkeymessage.
“Myauntfelldownandbrokeherarm.She’sOK,andmybrotherisgoingto
staywithherforafewweekstohelpheraroundthehouse.He’sabletodothat
becauseheworksfromhome,sohecankeepworkingwhileatherhouse.The
thingis,withhimaway,hiswifecan’tleavethehouseeasilybecausetheyonly
haveonecar.It’salsohalftermnextweek.Mybrotherswifeusuallylooksafter
mydaughterduringthedayduringtheholidays,soIcanwork.So,yousee,my
sister-in-lawisn’tabletopickupmydaughterfromschool,andIhavenooneto
lookafterher.Ontopofthat,mywifeisawaywithherworktoo.I’vealready
deliveredmostoftheworkonthecurrentproject,andI’vetalkedtoEmma,who
saidshecanhandleeverythingelse.So,canItakenextweekoffwork?”
Wow,that’squiteasituation.Youmayhaveworkedoutwhatwashappeningby
abouthalfwaythrough,butitwasn’tconfirmeduntilthelastline.Theentire
messagecouldbesummarizedas“CanIpleasetakenextweekoffwork?”Then
thebackgrounddetailcouldbegiven.
Keymessage=CanIpleasetakenextweekoffwork?
Hopefully,mostmanagersinthissituationwouldbesympathetic,butuntilthey
knowthediscussionisarequestfortimeoffwork,there’snothingtohelpthem
assessthelargequantityofinformation.Theyarecaptivesontheconversation
rollercoasteruntilthespeakergetstothepoint.Ifthepersonspeakinghadstarted
withthekeymessageaboutwantingtimeoff,hemayhavegottenaquick“yes”
fromthemanagerandbeenabletogetonwithhisday.
Herearesomemoreexamplesofconcisekeymessagestatementsfromcommon
workplacesituations.Eachoneisasummaryofamuchlargertopic,butthe“So
what?”isinasingleline.Alltheexplanationsandjustificationshavebeen
strippedout.Onlythecoremessageremains.
“Wejustclosedanewclient.”
“Theteambeattheservice-leveltarget.”
“Ourmostexperienceddeveloperisleaving.”
“Thesystemisdown,anditwilltakeaweektofix.”
“Weareoverbudget.”
“Wewillfinishearly.”
“Imissedadeadline,andthecustomerisupset.”
“Theclientisaskingformoretime.”
“Youhavebeennominatedforanaward.”
Theseexamplesshowthatthekeymessagecanbepositiveornegative.Aslong
asthemessageincludesthemostimportantpoint,youaredoingwell.
Framingsetsuptheconversationyouwanttohave,butitdoesn’treplaceit.You
willstillhaveaconversationinwhichyoucansharethebackgrounddetail.But
justlikemycarmechanicknew,thereisalwaystimetogointodetailafter
givingthekeymessage.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Lookagainattheemailyouusedinthepreviousactivities.Isthekeymessage
clear?Isitatornearthetopoftheemail?Haveyouexplicitlystatedthemost
importantpieceofinformation,ordoestherecipientneedtopieceittogether?
Whatwouldyouaddorchangetomakethemessageclearinthefirstfewlines?
PuttingItAllTogether
“Tellmewhatyouaretalkingabout.Tellmewhyyouaretalkingaboutit.And
please,please,please,gettothepoint.”
—Annonymous
Sofar,we’vecoveredthethreecomponentsofframing:context,intent,andkey
message.You’veseenhoweachcomponentdeliversvaluableinformation,but
individuallytheydon’tdeliveracompletemessage.
Thissectionshowshowtoputallthreecomponentstogetherintosuccinct
framingstatementsthatwillhelpyoustartyourworkconversationsquicklyand
clearly.Thisisassimpleasitsounds.Takethethreesentencesyou’vecreated
foryourmessage,andputthemtogetherinoneortwolines.
Namethetopic+Describetheintent+Gettothepoint
Let’stakealookatsomeexamples.
Example#1
Context:I’mworkingontheJeffersonaccount.
Intent:I’vegotgoodnews.
Keymessage:Wejustgotthemasanewclient.
Example#2
Context:Ireadthereportyousentme.
Intent:Canyouexplainsomething?
Keymessage:Iwanttounderstandthechangeintimeline.
Example#3
Context:IreviewedthenewITpolicy.
Intent:Ineedyoutotakeaction.
Keymessage:Ourfirewallisnolongercompliant.
Example#4
Context:Iwanttorewardmyteam.
Intent:Youshouldknow...
Keymessage:I’mgoingtospendtheentirebonusbudget.
Example#5
Context:I’mworkingonprojectABC.
Intent:Youshouldknow...
Keymessage:Wemissedadeadline,butthecustomersaidit’sOK.
Example#6
Context:Thekitchensinkisleaking.
Intent:Ineedyourhelp.
Keymessage:Canyoucallaplumber?
Eachoftheseexamplesislessthantwentywordsandtakesnomorethanfifteen
secondstosay.Eachincludesaclearcontext,aclearintentforthemessage,and
akeymessagethatpassesthe“Sowhat?”test.
Nowthatweknowhowtoframeatopictostartaconversationwell,let’sreview
theoriginalexamplewithSteveandthetestingdelayontheLT-10program.
We’llseehowframingcouldhavehelpedhimdeliveraclearmessageinonlya
fewseconds.
Asaquickrecap,Stevestoppedmeonmywaytolunch.Hetalkedforafew
minutesbeforeIhadtoaskwhatthetopicwasandwhatheexpectedofme.In
theend,Stevegavethekeymessagethatwewouldmissacriticallaunch
deadline.
Context:I’mtestingtheLT-10.
Intent:Wehaveaproblem.
KeyMessage:We’regoingtofinishamonthlaterthanplanned.
IfStevehadusedthis,oranythingsimilar,Iwouldhaveunderstoodthetopic
rightatthestart.
Withframing,mostmessagescanbedeliveredfasterandwithgreaterclarity.
Framingisasimpleconcept,butittakespracticetouseitwithconfidence.Start
usingframingtoday.Itmayfeelawkwardatfirst,butyouraudiencewill
appreciateit.Themoreyouuseframing,themorecomfortableyou’llbecome
withthetechnique,anditwon’tbelongbeforeyoureaptherewardsofmore
effectivecommunication.
Ifyou’reconcernedaboutthefewminutesitmighttaketocomeupwithgood
framing,considerthis:thosetwominuteswillbepaidbackimmediately.You’ll
haveashorterdiscussionwithlesschanceofconfusion,andyou’llhavean
audiencewhounderstandswhatyouwantthemtodo.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Takeafinallookattheemailyou’vebeenworkingoninthepreviousactivities.
Writeoutanewversionofthestartoftheemailusingtheframingmethod.Does
theemailmakemoresensewithaclearerintroduction?Canitbeshorter?
Ifyouroriginalemailalreadyhadthethreecomponentsofframing,welldone;
you’reonyourwaytobecomingagreatcommunicator.Ifyouonlyhadsomeor
perhapsnoneoftheelementsofframing,hopefullyyoucannowseethebenefit
ofthisapproachandhoweasyitistomakeaclearstarttoyourcommunication.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Identifythenexttopicyouneedtocommunicatetoyourteam,boss,or
colleagues.Writedownafewshortlinesthatincludethecontext,intent,andkey
message.Onceyouhavetheframingwrittendown,youcantakeitwithyouand
useittostarttheconversation.
KEEPSEPARATETOPICSSEPARATE
“Youcanonlyaddorcombinetwothingsiftheyareofthesamekind”
–SteveDemme
Manyofourworkconversationsincludemorethanonetopic.Whileitonly
takesalittlethoughtandorganizationtostartaconversationclearlywithasingle
topic,itishardertobeclearwhentalkingaboutmultipletopics.
Whentwoormoretopicsarecombinedinasingleconversation,theriskof
confusionincreasesexponentially,andtheneedforclearframingisevenmore
important.Youmayhaveexperiencedthisconfusionifyou’veeverhadtoask
someone“Arewestilltalkingabout[inserttopic],orhavewemovedonto
somethingnew?”Confusionoverwhetheraconversationhasmovedtoanew
topicisaclearindicatortheconversationwasn’twellframed.
Uptothispoint,everythinginthisbookhasrelatedtoframingasingletopic.
Singletopicsonlyhaveonecontext,oneintent,andonekeymessage.
Conversationswithtwoormoretopicscanhavemultiplecontexts,different
intentsforeachtopic,andavarietyofkeymessages.Withoutawell-structured
start,theseconversationscanquicklygetofftrack,mixupcriticalinformation,
ormissimportantpoints.
Acommonexampleofmixingtopicshappensinemails,anditissomething
manyofushaveexperienced.Haveyoueversentanemailwithtwoormore
questionsandbeenfrustratedwhentherespondentonlyanswersoneofthe
questions?Ourtendencyistoblametheotherpersonfornotreadingtheemail
properly.Thenwehavetospendtimegoingbackandforthwithadditional
emailsorphonecallstryingtogetalltheanswerswewant.
Insteadofblamingtheotherperson,weshouldtakealookatouroriginalemail.
Didwewriteitinawaythatmadeitclearthatwehadmultiplequestions?Were
thequestionseasilydistinguishablefromtheothertextinthemessage,orwere
theyburiedinthemiddleofparagraphs?Oftenthecauseofgettingan
incompleteanswerisbecauseourquestionswerenotwellstructured,anditwas
notobvioustotheaudiencethatthemessagecontainedmultiplequestions.
Ifit’seasytomixuptopicsinanemailwhentherecipienthastimetoreadit
morethanonce,howmuchharderisittokeeptrackofmultipletopicsina
conversationthat’shappeninginrealtime?
Inreality,manyofourworkconversationsinvolvemorethanonetopic,andthis
canleadtoconfusion.Byframingtheconversationcorrectly,it’seasierto
includemultipletopicswhilealsoloweringtheriskofconfusion.
HOWTOTELLIFYOUHAVEMORETHANONETOPIC
Thethreepartsofframingnotonlyhelpclarifythestartofyourmessage,they
canalsohelpyouseeifyouhavemorethanonetopicforyourconversation.
Startwithcontext.Ifyoucandefineaseparatecontextforeachtopic,youhave
twoseparatetopicstoframe.Ifyouwanttotalkabouttwodifferentprojects,
clients,orsituations,thenyouhavetwotopics.
Morethanonecontext=morethanonetopicofconversation=morethan
oneframing
Ifyouhavereviewedthecontextandhaveonlyonetopic,lookatyourintent.If
youneedtwodifferentactionsfromyouraudience,youhavetwotopics.You
cannothaveatopicthatisanFYIandalsorequiresanactionordecision.These
aretwodifferentintents,andyoushouldpreparetwodifferentmessages.
Morethanoneintent=morethanonepurposefortheconversation=more
thanoneframing
Ifyouhaveasinglecontextandasingleintent,youalmostalwaysneedonlya
singleframing.Anexampleofthisisifyouneedtogiveanupdateontwoor
moreitemsinasingletopic.
“Hi,Boss.We’vecompletedthefilingaudit.Thereareonlyacoupleofthings
youmightwanttoknow.First,nothingneedsyourattention;Joannasignedoff
onthereport.Also,we’reborrowingsomeinternsfromlegaltohelpusfinish
tidyingthefiles.Larry,theVPofLegal,saiditwasfine.”
Inthisexample,thecontextwasafilingaudit,andtheintentwasgivingacouple
ofupdates.Thekeymessagehadtwoparts:1)gettingtheauditreportsignedoff
and2)borrowingtheinterns.Thekeymessageswereseparate,buttheyboth
relatedtothesamecontextandintent.
Moreoftenthannot,twokeymessageswillneedtwodifferentframings.Thisis
becausetheyhavedifferentintents.Ifyoufailtoseparatetopicsinyour
conversation,itcanleadtowhatIcallan“ambush.”
Anambushoccurswhenadiscussionisframedwithoneintent,butthekey
messagerelatestoadifferentintent.Thespeakerpreparestheaudiencetodoone
thingandthenasksthemtodosomethingdifferent.Thefilingauditexample
abovecouldhavebecomeanambushwithaslightchangetoonekeymessage.
“Hi,Boss.We’vecompletedthefilingaudit.Thereareonlyacoupleofthings
youmightwanttoknow.First,nothingneedsyourattention;Joannasignedoff
onthereport.Also,we’reborrowingsomeinternsfromlegaltohelpusfinish
tidying.CanyoucheckwithLarry,theVPofLegal,toseeifthat’sOK?”
Theintentofthismessagewassetas“thingsyoumightwanttoknow,”butit
finishedwitharequesttoaskLarryaquestion.Afterhearingtheoriginalintent,
therecipientwouldn’tbeexpectingtherequesttotalktotheVPofLegal.While
thismaybeasmallthing,noonelikessurpriserequestsoractions.The
conversationshouldhavebeenframedastwotopics,anupdateandarequestfor
help.
Youmayrecognizetheseambushesifyouhaveeverthought“Wait,what?”after
someonefinishedtalking.Thiscanoccurwhentheinformationyoureceive
doesn’tmatchwhatyouexpectedtohear.Sometimesthishappensbecausethe
informationissurprising.Moreoftenit’sbecausetheconversationwasn’twell
framed.
Tobecertainyoudon’thavemorethanonetopictoframe,checkyourkey
message.Aretwoormoremessagescombinedintothekeymessage?Dothe
differentkeymessageshavethesamecontextandintent?Ifyes,createa
separateframingforeachtopictoensurethemessagesareclearforyour
audience.
Morethanonekeymessageusuallymeansmorethanoneframing.
HOWTOKEEPTWOTOPICSSEPARATE
Conversationswithmultipletopicscanbeframedwithasummaryframing.This
techniqueusesthesameprinciplesdescribedinchaptertwo.
First,createthebasicframingforeachtopicyouwanttotalkabout.Remember,
separatetopicsrequireseparateframings.Then,onceyouhavetheseparate
framingforeachtopic,createasinglesummaryframingfortheentire
conversation.
Thisapproachframestheoverallconversation,preparingtheaudiencefor
differenttopics.Eachtopicisthenaddressedoneatatimeasaseparate
conversation.Eachseparateconversationisframedandthencontinuesuntilthe
topiciscomplete.Theoverallconversationthenmovesontotheframingforthe
secondtopicandsoonuntilallthetopicshavebeendiscussed.
Atthestartofthediscussion,theaudienceknowstheywilltalkaboutmultiple
topics.Duringtheconversationthetopicsarekeptseparate,eachintroduced
clearlywithframing.Thismakesitmucheasierfortheaudiencetomentally
shiftcontextsbetweentopics.
Howtoframemultiple,separatetopicsinoneconversation
Example:
Timothyhadthreetopicstotalktohisteamleaderabout.
Adviceabouthowtohandleaproblemwitharecentdelivery
Adecisionaboutnominatingacolleagueforanaward
Adecisionaboutsometimeoff
Timothyknewhisteamleaderwasbusy,sohewantedtobeasclearandconcise
aspossible.Here’showhecombinedthemintoasingleframing:
Context:I’dliketotalktoyouaboutthreethings.
Intent:Ineedsomeadvice,andIhaveacoupleofdecisions.
Keymessage:Wehaveanissuewiththeofficesupplydelivery.I’dliketo
nominateDaveforanaward,andIhavearequestforsometimeoff.
Whenframingmultipletopics,thecontextistheneedtotalkaboutmultiple
topics.Thisoftentripspeopleupbecausetheyexpectthistobemorecomplex.
Keepitsimple.Ifyouaregoingtotalkaboutmorethanonetopic,makethat
cleartoyouraudience.Theintentisacombinationofthedifferenttopicintents
combinedintoasinglesentence.Thekeymessageisacombinationofthe
differentkeymessagesforeachtopic.
Youdon’tneedtoaimforthe“lessthantwentyword”target.Youshouldalso
expecttousemorewordswhenframingmultipletopics.
Thisapproachhasmultiplebenefitsforyouandyouraudience.
Ithelpsyoulogicallyorganizethetopicsyouwanttotalkabout.Thiswillkeep
themseparateandhelppreventconfusion.
Theaudiencecanquicklyabsorbthedifferenttopicsandevaluatetheonethey
wanttocoverfirst.
Intoday’stime-limitedworkplace,youraudiencemayhavetimeforonlyone
topic.Theymayalsohaveaparticularinterestorneedtotalkaboutoneofthe
topicsaheadoftheothers.Byframingtheentireconversation,it’seasierto
selectwhichtopicstotalkaboutandwhichordertotalkaboutthem.
HOWTOFRAMEMULTIPLETOPICSWITHTHESAMECONTEXT
Weoftenhavemorethanonepointtomakeormorethanonerequestrelatedtoa
singlecontext.Thisisthesituationmostlikelytocauseconfusionbecauseit’s
easytomixthetopicsintoeachother.Framingaconversationtoseparatethe
topicswithinonecontexthelpskeepseparatetopicsseparate.
Example:
Andreaisaclaimsadjusterforaninsurancecompany.Herteamrecentlystarted
workinanewregion,andshewantstoupdateherbossonthepreviousweek’s
events.Twotopicsareatthetopofherlist,andshehaspreparedtheframingfor
eachtopic.
Topic#1
Context:Newregionroll-out.
Intent:Heads-up/FYI.
KeyMessage:Thefull-timeteamisexceedingalltheirkeyperformance
indicators(KPIs).
Topic#2
Context:Newregionroll-out.
Intent:Needadecision.
KeyMessage:Shouldwecancelthecontractforadditionalstaff?
Havingpreparedbothframings,Andreafeelstheconversationneedstostartwith
somethingtohelpmakeitclearthetopicsareseparate.Shecanseehowa
performanceupdaterelatestothecontractforadditionalstaffbutdoesn’twant
thetwotopicstobemixedup.Andreawantstomakesurethefull-timeteamis
recognizedforitsgreatperformance,andthattheKPIsaren’tseenasareasonto
cancelacontractforextrastaff.
Andreapreparesanintroductionfortheconversationthatsetsupbothtopics
withoutmixingthemup.
“Ihaveanupdateonthenewregionroll-outandhavetwotopicstodiscuss.One
isanFYIabouttheteam’sgreatperformance.Theotherneedsadecisionabout
theextrastaffing.”
Andreahascreatedanintroductionthatusesthethreecomponentsofframing.
Context:Anupdateabouttheregionalroll-outwithtwotopics
IntentandKeyMessage#1:AnFYIabouttheteam’sgreatperformance
IntentandKeyMessage#2:Arequestforadecisionabouttheextrastaffing
Inthiscase,thecontextoftheconversationishavingtwotopicsrelatedtothe
regionalroll-out.TheintentisclearthatonetopicisanFYI,andtheotherneeds
adecision.Akeymessageisgivenwitheachintenttohelpseparatethetwo
topicsbeforeAndreastartsprovidingdetails.
Howtoframetwodifferenttopicswiththesamecontext
Whenstartingaconversationwithmultipletopicsrelatedtothesamecontext,
theconversationframingprovidesthesinglecontextforeverything.Afterthat,
youcancompletetheconversationframingwiththeseparateintentandkey
messagesforeachtopic.
Whenthesummaryiscomplete,youcandeliverFraming#1orFraming#2in
eitherorderdependingonthetopicyouoryouraudiencewouldliketodiscuss
first.Aftercompletingthefirstconversationtopic,givetheframingforthe
secondtopic,andcompletethatconversation.Thiskeepsthetwotopicsseparate
andpreventsconfusion.
Ifyouwanttobecertainyouraudienceknowsabouttheswitchbetweenthetwo
topics,addanadditionalstep.Referbacktothesummaryframingwhereyou
saidyouhadtwo(ormore)topicstodiscuss.Thiscallsbacktotheoriginal
conversationFraminghelpsorienttheaudiencetothechangeintopic.Theycan
mentallypreparetohearsomethingdifferent.Italsohasthebenefitofmaking
youseemorganized.
Howtocallbacktotheconversationframingbetweentopics
SometimeswegetsodeepinthedetailofTopic#1,weforgetthere’sasecond
topiconthelistofthingstotalkabout.Inthissituation,theuseofconversation
framingactsasasafetynet.Evenifyouforget,youraudiencemightremindyou
aboutthesecondtopic.Thissafetynetwillonlyhappenifyoumakeitclear
therearemultipletopicsatthestart.Forthesakeoftenseconds,youcanavoid
thefrustrationofwalkingawayfromaconversationrealizingyouhave
somethingelsestilltodiscuss.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Findarecentemailyou’vesentthatincludesmorethanonetopic.Isitclear
fromthestartthattheemailcontainsmorethanonetopic?Tryrewritingthefirst
partoftheemailtoclearlyframebothtopics.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Planthenextmulti-topicconversationyouwanttohavewithyourteam,apeer,
oramanager.Writedownthetopicsyouwanttodiscuss.Dotheyhavethesame
context,oraretheyseparate?Pickthemostappropriateframingmethod,and
thenwritedownthecontext,intent,andkeymessagestostarttheconversation.
Whenyouhaveagoodframing,youcanuseittohelpyoustayontrack.
FRAMINGCHAPTERSUMMARY
Congratulations!You’vemadeitthroughthesecondchapterofthisbookand
learnedthethreecorecomponentsofframing.
Context:Helpingtheaudiencefocusonthetopicyouwanttotalkabout
Intent:Makingitclearwhattheaudienceshoulddowiththeinformation
Keymessage:Theonelinethatsummarizesyourentiretopic
Youcannowframeasingleconversationtoincludeone,two,ormoretopics.
Evenifeachtopichasdifferentintentsandmessages,youcantalkaboutthemall
inthesameconversationwithamuchlowerriskofconfusion.
NEXTSTEPS
Framingstructuresthefirstfifteensecondsofyourconversation,butwhat
happensnext?Howdoyoustructuretherestofyourmessageifyouhavea
complextopic?Howdoyousummarizealargetopicintojustafewminutes?
Howdoyoustructureamessagewithmultiplevariablesoronewithadetailed
backstory?
Settingupaconversationforsuccessrequiresmorethanagreatintroduction.In
thenextchapter,youwilllearnaboutwhatIcall“structuredsummaries.”You
willdiscoverhowastructuredsummarycansummarizeanythinginlessthana
minutenomatterhowcomplexthetopic.Notonlyisastructuredsummary
succinct,thetechniquealsofocusestheconversationonthenextsteps.How
productivewouldyourconversationsandmeetingsbeifyoudidn’tneedto
reviewthehistoryofatopicbutcouldfocusonsolvingtheproblemsinstead?
Turnthepagetofindouthowthisworks.
Tip:Aneasywaytoremindyourselftousethesetechniquesatthestartof
yourworkconversationsandcommunicationistocreateavisualprompton
yourdesk.Writethethreecomponentsofframingonastickynote,andput
itonyourdeskornexttoyourcomputerscreen.Betterstill,downloada
printableversionfrommywebsite:www.chrisfenning.com/resources
CHAPTER3
STRUCTUREDSUMMARIES
“Mysummariesareoftenlongerthanmymainidea.”–Anonymous
Wouldn’titbegreatifwecouldstartconversationsaboutlargeandcomplex
topicsinawaythatwasalwaysclearandeasytounderstand?
Communicationcoursesoftentellustobeconcise,tostartwithasummaryof
thetopic,buttheyrarelyshowushowtocreatesuchasummary.It’sonethingto
knowyoushouldbedoingsomething.It’squiteanothertoknowhowtodoit.
ThesolutiontothisproblemistocreateastructuredsummaryusingwhatIcall
the“goal,problem,solution”method.
Ifyou’rewonderinghowthismethodhelpstointroduceatopic,takeanother
lookattheparagraphabove.Itwaswrittenusingthegoal,problem,solutionor
GPSmethod.
Goal:Wouldn’titbegreatifwecouldstartconversationsaboutlargeand
complextopicsinawaythatwasalwaysclearandeasytounderstand?
Problem:Communicationcoursestellustobeconcise,tostartwithasummary
ofthetopic,buttheyrarelyshowusexactlyhowtocreateasummary.It’sone
thingtoknowyoushouldbedoingsomething.It’squiteanothertoknowhowto
doit.
Solution:Thesolutiontothisproblemistocreateastructuredsummaryusing
whatIcallthe“goal,problem,solution”method.
Startingwithagoodsummaryiscriticaltocommunicatingclearly.Withouta
clearsummary,youraudiencehasnoframeofreferencefortheinformationyou
areabouttoshare.Thisiswherethingscanquicklygowrong,andweseesome
ofthefollowingcommunicationmistakes.
MISTAKE#1:Divingintothedetailtooquickly:
Divingintothedetailhappenswhensomeonetalksaboutatopicwithmultiple
supportingpointsandstartstalkingaboutthefirstpointingreatdetailbefore
givingasummaryofthewholetopic.Speakerswhoimmediatelydiveintothe
depthsofatopicquicklyconfuseandlosetheiraudience.Withoutahigh-level
summary,theaudiencedoesn’tknowhowthedetailofeachpointrelatestothe
maintopic.Itmightbethemostimportantpointortheleastimportantpoint;
onlythespeakerknowsforsure.Thiscanoccurformultiplereasons.
Aspeakerlistseventsintheordertheyhappened.
Thespeakerthinkstheaudienceneedstoknowallthedetailsbeforetheycan
understandtheintentorthekeymessage.
Thespeakerisunsureaboutthepurposeofhisorhermessage.Thespeakeris
notclearwhatactionheorshewantstheaudiencetotake.
MISTAKE#2:Goingoffontangents:
Listeningtosomeonerambleortalkaboutsomethingseeminglyunconnectedto
theoriginalpointoftheconversationisoneofthemostfrustratingandcommon
occurrencesintheworkplace.
MISTAKE#3:Dwellingonthepastinsteadofthenextsteps:
Howmuchtimeisspenttalkingaboutthehistoryofanissueinsteadoffocusing
ontheactionstofixit?Whensomethingbreaksorfails,wetendtospendalotof
timetalkingaboutthecauseoftheproblem.Meetingssetuptoaddresstheissue
spendupto80percentoftheallottedtimefocusedontheproblemandwhyit
happened.Onlyattheendofthemeeting,aftereveryonehashadtheirsay,does
thefocusshifttowhatneedstobedonenext.Bythispointthereisnotenough
timelefttohaveaproductivediscussionaboutthesolutiontotheproblem.This
isonereasonwhymeetingsoftenendwithanactiontosetupanothermeeting.
Mostcommunicationtrainingcoursesdescribetheseissues.Theyexplainwhy
thesetrapsshouldbeavoidedandevensuggestwaystoeludethem,suchas“Be
concise”or“Pickonetopictofocusonineachconversation.”Whatthecourses
don’tusuallyprovidearethespecifictoolsormethodsthatshowhowtobe
conciseorhowtoidentifytheonetopiconwhichthespeakerneedstofocus.
Thischapterdescribeshowtocreategreatsummariesusingthegoal,problem,
solutionmethod.Withthistechnique,youcanstartanyconversationwithclarity
nomatterhowcomplexthetopic.
Theprocesshasonlythreestepsandtakeslessthanforty-fivesecondstodeliver,
which,incidentally,makesuptheremainderofthefirstminute.
CREATEGREATSUMMARIES
Usingastructuredsummaryinthefirstminuteofyourconversationwillprovide
youraudiencewithaconcisesynopsisofwhattheyareabouttobetold,whatis
expectedofthem,andthenextstepsthatneedtobetaken.
ThestructuredsummarymethodthatIdescribeinthissectionhasasimple,
three-partformat.Withit,youcansummarizeanentiremessageinasfewas
threesentencesnomatterhowcomplexthetopic.Itdoesn’tmatterifyourfull
messagewilltakefiveminutesorfifty-fiveminutestodeliver;itcanstillbe
summarizedinlessthanaminute.
WHATAREWORKCONVERSATIONSREALLYABOUT?
Beforewecancreateagreatsummary,weneedtounderstandwhatmostwork
conversationsarereallyabout.
Afteryoutakeoutsocializingandentertainingconversations,mostwork
discussionsareaboutsolvingproblemsandovercomingchallenges.Itmaynot
beobviousthatworkisallaboutproblems,butit’strue.Allcompanieshave
goals,targets,anddeadlines,andmostofourdailyworkeffortisaboutmaking
surethosegoalsandtargetsaremet.Wedothisbyeitheravoidingorpreventing
problems.
Workproblemsrangefromtheday-to-day:
Theofficesuppliesarerunningout.
NotbeingabletogettimewithJanefromAccounting.
Thesalestargetsmustbemet.
Tothesignificant:
Theteamisn’tmeetingtheirkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs).
Theentirecustomersupportsystemisdown;weneedtofixit.
Totheenormous:
We’vewonthebidtohosttheOlympics.Nowweneedtomakeithappen!
Eachoftheseproblemscanbecomplexinitsownway.Eachhasdifferent
implications,challenges,andtimeframes.Itdoesn’tmatterhowcomplexor
mundaneatopicis;it’salwaysnecessarytoexplainitinawaythatpeoplecan
quicklyabsorbandunderstand.
Onceyouconsiderthatnearlyeveryworkconversationis,atitsheart,about
solvingaproblem,it’smuchsimplertocreateaframeworktosummarizeany
topicinanysituation.It’salsopossibletousethesameframeworktoavoidthe
communicationissuesdescribedearlierinthischapter.
Conversationsshouldnotfocusonproblems;theyshouldfocusonsolving
problems.
Ifthepurposeofourworkplaceconversationsistosolveproblems,our
communicationshouldbestructuredtofocusonclarifyingtheproblemand
gettingusclosertoasolution.Byremovingthecontextanddetailfromeach
worksituation,onlythreetypesofsituationsremainwhereyouhaveaproblem
andaneedtotalktosomeoneelseaboutit.
Youhaveaproblemandaneedtofindasolution.
Youhaveaproblemandarerecommendingasolution.
Youhadaproblem,ithasbeensolved,andyouarereportingtheoutcome.
Thislistdoesn’tincludethesituationwhereyouhaveaproblemandwantto
hideit,becauseit’sunderstoodthatyoushouldnevertrytohideawork-related
problem.
Whenthereareonlyafinitenumberofoptionsforwhatyouaretryingtoconvey
inaworkconversation,it’smucheasiertodefineamodelforhowtosummarize
them.
THEGOALPROBLEMSOLUTIONSTRUCTUREDSUMMARY
Thesimplestwaytosummarizeaproblemtopicistousethegoal,problem,
solutionmethod.Thisthree-partstructureprovidestheidealformatfor
summarizingandstartingworkplaceconversations.Itworksforsimpleand
complextopics.
Thethreepartsofthestructuredsummaryare:
Goal:Thegoalyouaretryingtoachieve
Problem:Theproblemthatispreventingyoufromreachingyourgoal
Solution:WhatI/we/youaregoingtodotosolvetheproblem
Goal,problem,solutionformsaneasy-to-rememberinitialism:GPS.Justlikethe
navigationaidwiththesamename,theGPSmethodisatooltohelpyoushow
otherswhereyouwanttogo,tohighlighttheobstaclesbetweenyouandyour
destination,andtodescribetheroutetogetthere.
ALLTHREEPARTSOFGPSARENEEDED
Goal,problem,andsolutionareseparateelementsthatmakeupyourmessage,
sodon’tcombinethem.
Goalandproblemarethemostcommonpartstogetmixedup.Peopleoftenfind
themselvesdescribingtheproblemaspartofthegoal.Itisalsocommontothink
thatthegoalistosolvetheproblemandcombinethesetwoelementsintoa
singlesentence.Goalandproblemaredifferentandshouldbetwodistinctitems
inyourmessage.Thegoaliswhatyouwanttoachieve.Theproblemiswhyyou
arehavingtroubleachievingit.
Example:
Goaliswhatyouaretryingtodoorachieve.
E.g.,Gettotheflag.
Problemiswhyyouarehavingtroubledoingorachievingit
E.g.,Anobstacleisintheway.
Solutioniswhatyouwilldotosolvetheproblemandreachthegoal.
E.g.,Buildabridgeovertheobstacle.
WHATTODOWHENTHESOLUTIONISUNKNOWN
Youdon’tneedtoknowthesolutiontotheproblemwhenyoustarta
conversation.
Doyourecallthethreetypesofproblemsituations?
Youhaveaproblemandneedtofindasolution.
Youhaveaproblemandarerecommendingasolution.
Youhadaproblemthathasbeensolved,andyouarereportingtheoutcome.
Ifyouareinscenario1anddon’thaveasolutiontoyourproblem,thepurposeof
theconversationisalmostcertainlytohelpyoufindorgetclosertofindinga
solution.Thisisthesimplestscenariotoaddress.Youstatethegoalandthe
problem,andthesolutionstatementcanbe“Canyouhelpmefindasolution?”
Askingforhelptofindthesolutionistheeasiestwaytohandlethisscenario,but
itisn’tthebestway.
Itisusuallybettertoproposesolutionsthantoaskforhelpwithnoideasofyour
own.Ifyoudon’thaveideasforasolution,youareaskingtheotherpersonto
solvetheproblemforyou.Ontheotherhand,ifyouhaveoneortwoideasfora
solution,evenifyoudon’tknowiftheyaretherightideas,youareaskingthe
otherpersonforadvice.Thedifferencebetweenaskingsomeonetodoextra
workandaskingthemforinsightandadviceissignificant.Noonelikesgetting
extrawork,butmostpeoplearehappytobeaskedfortheirexpertopinion.
Thereisnothingwrongwithaskingforhelp,butunlessyougenuinelyhaveno
ideahowtosolvetheproblem,youshouldtrytoproposeasolutionortwowhen
askingforadvice.
Proposingsolutionsissomethingthatdifferentiateshighperformers,they
regularlyaskforhelp,butusuallyhavesomeideasoftheirowntohelpstartthe
conversation.
KEEPITBRIEF
Remember,thestructuredsummaryisanintroductiontotheconversation;itis
nottheentireconversation.Thepurposeofthestructuredsummaryisnottopack
alltheinformationintoafewlines.It’saclear,concisewaytogiveyour
audienceanoverviewofwhatiscomingnext.
UsingtheGPSmethodtostructureyourintroductionmakesiteasyforyour
audiencetounderstandwhatishappeningandwhatyouneed.Itleadsyour
audiencethroughthekeypointsinalogicalorder,clearlystatingtheproblemto
solve,anditfinisheswithafocusonaction.
Let’stakealookatsomeexamples.
Givinggoodexamplesofstructureiseasy,butshowinghowtheyarecreatedis
muchhardertodo.IfIweretodemonstratethecompleteprocessofgettingfrom
theunstructureddetailofsomeone’sramblingintroductiontotheconcise
structureusingthreelinesforgoal,problem,andsolution,Iwouldfillalotof
pageswritingouttranscriptsofconversationsweoftenfindourselvesinatwork,
withlong,ramblingparagraphsofinformationwithkeypointsoutoforder.That
isn’tagooduseofpaperorpixels,anditwouldn’tbefunforanyofus.
Instead,Iwillworkthroughexamplesofgoodstructurefromdifferentsituations,
andyoucanusethemasaguidewhenyoustartpracticingusingyourownwork
topics.
Note:I’veincludedframingintheseexamplestoshowhowframingand
structureworktogethertocreateaclearmessage.Whilestructurecanbe
usedbyitselftoprovideasummary,itisalwaysmorevaluabletocombineit
withframing.
Example#1
Samisacallcenteragentfromcustomerserviceatashippingfirm.Shewentto
speaktoherbossaboutanissuewiththeDavisonGroup,acustomerthatwas
unhappyaboutalostshipment.
Samstartedwithadescriptionofwhenshehadfirstspokentotheclientabout
themissingshipmentearlierintheweek.Samwalkedthroughthehistoryofthe
callswiththeclientandgaveastep-by-stepdescriptionofwhatshehaddonein
thepasttwodaystotrytofindtheshipment.Eventually,shegotaroundto
sayingtheclientwantedarefundandthatsheneededhermanagershelp
authorizingit.
Throughoutthedescription,themanageraskedquestionsabouttheissue,andthe
fiveminutesofexplanationextendedtotenminuteswhilethemanagertriedto
understandthecompletesituation.Theyalsowentoffonafewtangentsasthe
managerpointedoutwhatmighthavebeenerrorsinthewaytheagenthad
searchedforthelostshipment.
Theconversationendedwiththemanagernotapprovingtherefund.Heneeded
moretimetoreviewthedetailswithSam.Samwentbacktoherdeskunhappy
thatshestilldidn’thaveasolutiontotherefundrequest,andhermanagerwas
frustratedthatittooksolongtounderstandthetopic.
Inthisscenario,ittookalmosttenminutestogettothekeymessage.Didyou
spotwhatthekeymessagewas?Theneedforanauthorizationforarefundand
helpfindingthelostshipment.
IfSamhadgivenastructuredsummaryfirst,shewouldhavequicklymadeit
clearsheneededauthorizationforarefundandalsowantedhelpfindingthe
shipment.Hereiswhatthesummarycouldlooklikeusingthestructured
summaryapproachwiththeGPSmethod.
“I’vejustspokentotheDavisonGroup.Canyouhelpmewithaproblem?They
didn’tgetthelastshipmentandwantarefund.TheDavisonGroupprepaidfora
shipmentlastmonththatdidn’tarrive,andweneedtofixthis.Ican’tfindthe
shipment,andtherefundisabovethelimitIcanapprove.Canyouauthorizethe
refundandhelpmefindthemissingshipment?”
Context:I’vejustspokentotheDavisonGroup.
Intent:Canyouhelpmewithaproblem?
KeyMessage:Theydidn’tgetthelastshipmentandwantarefund.
Goal:TheDavisonGroupprepaidforashipmentlastmonththatdidn’tarrive;
weneedtofixthis.
Problem:Ican’tfindtheshipment,andtherefundisabovethelimitIcan
approve.
Solution:Canyouauthorizetherefundandhelpmefindthemissingshipment?
Thisversionofthemessageisclearandquicktodeliver.IfSamhadstartedthe
conversationwithsuchasummary,themanagerwouldhavereceivedthewhole
pictureinlessthanthirtyseconds.Therestoftheconversationaboutwhathad
happenedandevaluatingthemethodstheagentusedtofindtherefundcould
eitherhappenimmediatelyorbeputofftoamoreconvenienttime.Thiswould
allowthemanagertoquicklyassessthesituationandtakeappropriatestepsto
helpSam.
Usingastructuredsummarydoesn’tstopyoufromhavingdetailed
conversations.Instead,itavoidsforcingthedetailedconversationtohappenright
then.Byfocusingonsolvingtheproblemandavoidinggettingboggeddownin
details,structuredsummariesusingtheGPSmethodprovideyouraudiencewith
achoiceabouthowtheconversationplaysout.
Example#2
Atechnicalanalysthadreadthenewgovernmentguidelinesforpaymentdata
handledthroughafirewallandwastalkingtotheheadofITaboutit.Thisisthe
cleaned-upversionofthediscussionusingframingandastructuredsummary.
“Ireviewedthenewinformationsecuritypolicy.Weneedtotakeactionbecause
ourfirewallisnotcompliantanymore.Thenewindustryregulationsrequireus
tohavealevel-fivefirewallforallecommercetransactionstokeeppaymentdata
secure.Unfortunately,ourcurrentsoftwarewillonlyallowustosupportupto
levelfour.Weneedtocomeupwithaplanforupgradingthesoftwareand
presentittotheleadershipteamforapproval.”
Context:Ireviewedthenewinformationsecuritypolicy.
Intent:Weneedtotakeaction.
Keymessage:Ourfirewallisnotcompliantanymore.
Goal:Thenewindustryregulationsrequirealevel-fivefirewallforall
ecommercetransactionstokeeppaymentdatasecure.
Problem:Ourcurrentsoftwarewillonlyallowustosupportuptolevelfour.
Solution:Weneedtocomeupwithaplanforupgradingthesoftwareandpresent
ittotheleadershipteamforapproval.
Theoriginalmessagewasalotlongerthanthisstructuredsummary.Itwasfull
oftechnicaltermsanddescriptionsoftheprocesses,servicecalls,anddatabases
involvedintheproblem.TheheadofITwasn’tabletofindakeymessageora
nextstepamongstallthedetailandhadtotrytocreatehisownsummaryofthe
message,repeatingbackwhathethoughthe’dheard.Ittookalmosttwenty
minutesfortherealissuetobecomeclear.
Bycontrast,thestructuredversionofthemessagegivenaboveissoclearthatit
couldbedeliveredtoanyoneinalmostanyrole,andtheywouldunderstandwhat
washappeningandwhatneededtobedonenext.Themessagedoesn’tincludea
lotoftechnicaljargon,anditdoesn’trequiretechnicalknowledgetounderstand
whatishappeningorthestepstoaddressit.Thisiswhatmakesagreat
structuredsummary.
Whencreatingyourownstructuredsummaries,avoidusingdeeptechnical
language.Thenyourmessagecanbeunderstoodbyalmostanyone.Youdon’t
needtobeanexpertinthetopictounderstandastructuredsummary.
Youmayknownothingaboutsystemfirewallsortheinnerworkingsofacargo
shippingcompany,butI’mbettingyouunderstoodtheproblemsineachexample
above.Neithersituationrequiredyoutoknowthedetailsoftheprocesses,
systems,orcompaniesinvolved.
Thinkaboutthisthenexttimeyouneedtoexplainaproblemtosomeoneat
work.Theymightnotknowtheprocesses,thesystems,orthedetailthesame
wayyoudo,butthatdoesn’tmeanyouneedtogivethemallthatinformationfor
themtounderstandwhatyouneed.UsetheGPSstructuretohelpsummarizethe
topicintermsofgoal,problem,andsolution,andtheywillhaveamuchbetter
chanceofunderstandingwhatyouaretryingtocommunicate.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Thinkaboutaworkconversationyouneedtohavesoon.Ideally,itshouldbe
aboutsomethingcomplexorchallenging,anditshouldbeanewtopicforthe
persontowhomyouwillspeak.Writedownthegoal,problem,andsolution
statementsforyourtopic.Canyouclearlydefinethegoalyouaretryingto
achieve?Istheproblemstatementfocusedontheonethingthatpreventsyou
fromachievingthegoal?Doyouhaveaclearsolutionstatementthatletsyour
audienceknowexactlywhatyouwanttohappennext?
Nowthatyouhaveyourstructuredsummarywrittenout,itwillbemucheasier
tostarttheconversation.Hopefully,youfindthissimpleapproachmakesthe
startoftheconversationshorterandclearer.
Don’tworryifyoustrugglewiththisactivity.Westruggletosummarize
complextopicsforvariousreasons,includingproblemswithmultiplevariables,
manydependencies,differentlevels,impactsonotherprojects,andbeinglinked
tootherproblems.TheGPSmethodworksinallofthesesituations.Thenext
sectionhelpsunpackthesereasonsandprovidestechniquestogetpastthem.
Ifyoustillfeelthatyourworkproblemsaretoocomplextobesummarizedin
justthreelines,readon.Wewillworkthroughsomecomplexexamplesthat
includekeepingpeoplealivewhenlaunchingthemintospace.Therearen’tmany
problemsmorecomplexorriskierthanthat!
NOPROBLEMISTOOCOMPLEX(TOBESUMMARIZEDIN
LESSTHANAMINUTE)
“Lifeisreallysimple,butweinsistonmakingitcomplicated.”
–Confucius
Youmightbereadingthisandthinking,“Mytopicsarefartoocomplextobe
summarizedinlessthanaminute.”Ifyouare,Icompletelyunderstand.Iusedto
thinkthesamethinguntilIsawtheGPSmethodusedforsometrulycomplex
topics.
SantoshandDoug,twoengineersworkingforNASAinVirginia,USA,wereata
BBQtalkingabouttheirfavoritetopic:theneedformorefundingforthe
InternationalSpaceStation(ISS).TheISSwasamajorpartoftheNASAbudget
atatimewhentheUSAwasturningitssightsbacktothemoon,andtheyboth
hadstrongopinionsaboutmaintainingthefunding.
SantoshandDoughadbeendeepinthediscussionforabouthalfanhourwhen
Nick,anexecutiveatahealthcarefirmandateammateintheirlocalkickball
league,joinedtheconversation.Withoutrealizingwhathewaslettinghimselfin
for,Nickcasuallyaskedwhythecostneededtobesohigh.
Thetwoengineerslaunchedintoadetaileddescriptionofthecomplexityofthe
ISS,thechallengescausedbysolaranddeep-spaceradiation,andthefuel
neededtokeeptheISSattherightaltitudeandtoferrypeopleandsuppliesto
andfromit.Theyalsotalkedabouttherisksposedbydebrisinorbitandmore.
Nickdidn’tseemtomind.Itwasaniceday,hehadadrinkinhishand,andit
wasgenuinelyinterestingstuff.Afewotherpeoplewanderedoverandstood
listeningasthetwoengineerstalkedforovertwentyminutesaboutthescientific
breakthroughsthattheISShadenabled.
Whenthepairfinallywounddown,SantoshsaidtoNick,“Soyousee,that’s
whyitcostsalotandwhythegovernmentshouldkeepfundingit.”
“Youclearlyknowalotaboutthisstuff,”Nicksaid,smiling.“Ididn’tquite
followeverythingyousaid,butwhatIthinkyou’resayingiswebuiltascience
labinspace,andit’shelpinguslearnalotofimportantthings.Theproblemis,
spaceishardtogetto,andthereareahundredwaysapersoncanbekilledup
there.So,ittakesalotofmoneytokeepthelabinspaceandmakesurethe
scientistsusingitstayalive.”
SantoshandDougstaredatNickastheothersaroundthemcommentedonhow
itallmademoresensewhendescribedthatway.
“It’salotmorecomplicatedthanthat,”Santoshsaid,“butyes,youprettymuch
summeditup.”
NickknewnothingabouttheISSbeyondwhathe’dreadinthenewsandseenon
TV.Hewasn’tanengineer,hehadneverworkedonaspaceprogram,andhe
knewnothingaboutthecomplexitiesoflifeinlow-earthorbit.Despitethat,he
wasabletoabsorbasignificantamountoftechnicalinformationfromtwohighly
qualifiedengineersandsummarizeitinthirtysecondssothatothernon-
engineeringpeoplecouldunderstandit.
DidyounoticehowNick’ssummaryfollowedtheGPSstructure?Lookatit
again,andseeifyoucanidentifythethreecomponentsofastructuredsummary.
Goal:Buildasciencelabinspaceandhelphumankindlearnalotofimportant
things.
Problem:Spaceishardtogetto,andthereareahundredwaysapersoncanbe
killedupthere.
Solution:Spendalotofmoneytomakesurethescientistsusingthelabstay
alive.
Asthisshows,itispossibletosummarizeeventhemostcomplextopicsquickly
andclearly.
SomemightarguethatNick’ssummarywasanoversimplification.Ifthe
audiencehadbeenaroomfullofNASAengineersworkingontheISS,it
probablywouldhavebeen,butthepeopleattheBBQweren’ttechnical;they
didn’talreadyhaveknowledgeofthetopic.Thepurposeoftheconversationwas
toexplainwhyitcostsalottomaintainaspacestation,andNick’ssummarywas
theclearestwaytodothat.IfSantoshandDoughadstartedwiththesummary,
theycouldhavehadaconversationwherepeopleaskedaboutthediscoveries
madeorthedangersofspaceinsteadofbeinglectured.Everyonecouldhave
understoodthekeypointsfromthestartratherthanlistenedtoatwenty-minute
monologue.
ANYTOPICCANBESUMMARIZED
Anyworktopic,nomatterhowcomplex,canbesummarizedusingthegoal,
problem,solutionmethod.
AcommentIoftenhearfromattendeesatmyworkshopsis,“Mytopicistoo
complextosummarizeinsixtyseconds.”Thisisanunderstandablebelief,
especiallywhenmuchofourworkiscomplex.Ourworkmightnotbeas
complexasmaintainingalivablehabitatinthevacuumofspace,butitisstill
complexwhenconsideringthemanynuancesofourindustriesandjobs.
Inthepreviouspages,you’veseenhowmostworksituationscanbedefinedas
problemsthatcanbeclearlyexplainedusingtheGPSmethod.TheBBQ
conversationabouttheISSshoweditispossibletosummarizethemostcomplex
ofsituations.Despitethis,itiscommontohearcomplex,detaileddescriptionsof
workproblemsinsteadofclearsummaries.
Why?
Thereareafewcoreandunfortunatelyquitecommoncausesofoverlycomplex
descriptionsatwork.
Cause#1:Weassumetheaudiencethinkslikeus.
Cause#2:Webelievetheaudienceneedstoknowallthedetailstobeableto
understandtheproblem.
Cause#3:Wefocusonvariablesanddependenciesinsteadoftheproblem.
Cause#4:Wesummarizemorethanoneproblematonce.
Cause#1:Weassumetheaudiencethinkslikeus.
Ournaturaltendencyistosummarizethingsinthewayweneedorwouldlike
themtobesummarized.Inthespacestationexample,thetwoengineers
explainedtheneedforfundingasthoughtheyweretryingtoconvincesomeone
likethem,someonewiththesameknowledgeandexperiencetheyhad.Inreality,
theaudiencewasagroupofpeoplewhoknewlittleaboutthetechnologyand
onlywantedtoconceptuallyunderstandthereasonsforthehighcostof
maintainingtheISS.Theydidn’tneedtoknowthedetailstobeableto
understandtheconcepts.
Whencommunicatingatwork,considerwhoyouarecommunicatingwith.
Thinkaboutwhattheyreallyneedtoknowinordertounderstandyourintent
andwhattheyneedtodowithit.Alwaysstartwiththeleastamountof
informationanddatapossibletomakeyourpoint.Toomuchinformationmakes
itharderforpeopletounderstandyourmessageandpurpose.Startwiththe
simplestexplanation.Youcanalwaysaddmoredetailifneeded.
Cause#2:Webelievetheaudienceneedstoknowallthedetailsbeforethey
canunderstandtheproblem.
Ifyouarestrugglingwithaproblemandneedtogetinputfromsomeoneelse,
it’seasytoassumethatpersonneedstohavealltheinformationyouhavebefore
theycanhelpyou.
Partofthiscomesfromwithin.Weconsciouslyorsubconsciouslythink,“How
couldtheypossiblyknowtherightadvicetogiveiftheydon’thaveallthe
facts?”Wemayalsowanttodemonstratetheeffortwe’vealreadyputinto
findingasolution.
Itisrarethatyouraudiencemusthavealloftheinformationbeforetheycan
providevaluablehelp.Giventhatthepurposeofmostworkplacecommunication
istosolvespecificproblems,theinformationweprovideonlyneedstobe
enoughtoachievethatonegoal.
Ifyouhaveframedyourmessageusingthetechniquesdescribedearlierinthis
book,youwillhavedefinedtheintentofyourmessage(requestforaction,input,
approval,advice,andsoon).Havingdonethis,therightlevelofdetailtoinclude
inthestructuredsummaryisjustenoughtoachieveyourstatedintent.Hereare
someexamples.
Ifyouneedadecision,thesummaryshouldfocusonthedecisiontobemade,
notallthereasonswhythedecisionisneeded.
Ifyouneedadviceonhowtosolveaproblem,thesummaryshouldfocusonthe
problemthatneedssolvingandnotonallthereasonswhytheproblemexists.
Whenitcomestodeliveringclearmessages,fewerwordswiththeright
informationisbest.
Cause#3:Wefocusonthevariablesanddependenciesinsteadofthe
problem.
Theproblemswesolveatworkarecomplex.Iftheyweresimple,wewouldn’t
needtoworksohard.
Mostproblems,evenrelativelysimpleones,havemorethanonevariable.They
arealsodependentonandimpactthingsthatgobeyondthecurrentsituationyou
wanttotalkabout.Forexample,ITsystemsareinterconnected.Acostoverrun
inoneprojectcanimpactotherprojects.Adelaycanbecausedbymultiple
issuesthatcometogethertocauseabiggerproblemandsoon.Thelistis
endless.
Don’tmixupthecausesoftheproblemwiththeactualproblemyouneedto
solve.
Whentryingtosummarizeaproblem,it’seasytostartdescribingthevarious
partsoftheproblemthatmakeitcomplexinsteadoffocusingontheproblem
thatneedssolving.Theexistenceofmultiplevariablesisn’taproblembyitself.
Ifthevariablescausinganissueareunknownorkeepchanging,thatisa
probleminandofitself.Inthiscase,thesummaryshoulddefinetheproblemas
beingchangingvariables,andthesolutionshouldfocusonhowtosolvethat.
Thisdoesn’trequireadetaileddescriptionofeachvariable.Theconversation
thatcomesafterthesummarycanincludethedetailsforeachvariableandhowit
impactsthegoal,butthesummarydoesn’tneedthatdetail.Thesummaryshould
dojustwhatitsnameimplies,summarizethegoal,theproblem,andthedesired
solutionatahigherlevel.
Thesamecanbesaidaboutdependencies.Dependenciesarenotproblemstobe
solved.Ifthedependenciesareimpactingyourwork,yourgoalistoresolvethe
problem,notremovethedependency.Forexample,ifanotherprojectislate,and
youneeditfinishedbeforeyourworkcanstart,theproblemisthelatedelivery
oftheproject,nottheexistenceofthedependency.Yourstructuredsummary
shouldfocusonsolvingtheproblemofthelatedelivery.
Ifyoucanclearlydefinethegoalandthespecificproblempreventingthegoal
frombeingachieved,thenyouwillhaveaclearsummary.
Cause#4:Wesummarizemorethanoneproblematonce.
Inchapter2,wesawhowhavingmultipletopicsinoneconversationcancause
problems.Thesameissuesoccurwhentryingtosummarizemultipleproblemsin
thesamesummary.Morethanoneproblemusuallymeansmorethanone
solutionisrequired.
Complexgoalsusuallyhavemultipleparts.Therefore,multipleproblemscan
coexist.Whenfacedwiththissituation,it’seasytolistalltheproblemsinthe
summaryatthestartofaconversation.Unfortunately,thisincreasestheriskof
fallingintooneofthecommonmistakeslistedabove.Italsomakesitharderfor
theaudiencetokeeptrackoftheseparatetopicsintheconversation.
Problemsaresolvedoneatatime,andeachproblemrequiresaseparate
conversationtosolve.Thisdoesn’tmeanyouneedtohaveseparatemeetingsor
comebacktospeaktoyouraudiencemultipletimes.Thetopicscanbecovered
inthesameconversationiftheyareaddressedsequentially.Thekeytohavinga
clearconversationwithmultipletopicsistoframeandsummarizeitatthestart.
Eachproblemneedsitsownstructuredsummary,soyoucanhaveaproductive
discussionandcanachieveyourintendedoutcome.
Starttheconversationwithframing(describedinchapter2).Thenstarteachnew
topicwithframingandastructuredsummary.Completetheconversationonthe
firsttopic,hopefullyfocusingonthesolutionandachievingthedesiredintent,
thenmoveontothesecondtopic.Startthesecondtopicwithframinganda
structuredsummary.Thisensuresyouandyouraudienceareclearthatanew
topichasstarted,andeveryoneisawareofthenewintentanddesiredsolution.
(Thegraphicaldepictionofthisisshownonthenextpage.)
Howtostructureaconversationwithmultipleproblemtopics
ANEXCEPTIONTOTHISRULE
Thereisasituationwheremultipleproblemsdonotrequiremultipleframings.If
multipleproblemshaveacommoncause,thatcommoncausebecomesthe
singularproblemtoaddress.Therootcauseiswhatgetssummarizedaspartof
theGPSstructure.Here’sanexample.
Goal:Todeliveraproductupgradeontime.
Problem:Wearegoingtomissthego-livedatebecausewehavemultiplerelated
issues,eachwithdifferenttimelines.
Solution:Ineedtogettimewithyourteamtoworkthroughtheissuesandcreate
aresponseplan.
Thisexampleprovidesallthecomponentsofastructuredsummary.Nodetailis
givenaboutthespecificissues,andyettheaudiencehasbeengivenasummary
thatincludeswhatishappening,whattheproblemis,andthenextstepstosolve
it.
Ifyoufeeluncomfortableleavingoutallthedetail,theproblempartofthe
structuredsummarycanincludeafewspecificexamplestohelpprovidemore
detailtoyouraudience.Becarefulnottooverdoit.Youwillruntheriskof
expandingthesummarytoomuchifyoustarttalkingaboutthedetailinsteadof
completingthesummary.Hereistheexampleagain,butthistimeafew
additionaldetailshavebeenaddedtotheproblemstatement.
Goal:Todelivertheproductupgradeontime.
Problem:Wearegoingtomissthego-livedatebecausewehavemultiplerelated
issues,includinglatedeliveries,aproductionprocessbacklog,anddelayed
testing,eachwithdifferenttimelines.
Solution:Ineedtogettimewithyourteamtoworkthroughtheissuesandcreate
aresponseplan.
Beingabletosummarizeatopicisakeyskillwhencommunicatingtoleaders.
Theywanttogetthehigh-levelsummarybeforehearinganydetails.Ifyouwant
tobecomealeader,orifyouregularlycommunicatewithleaders,theabilityto
summarizeclearlyissomethingyouneedtomaster.
Therearemanyreasonswethinkwecannotsummarizeatopic,butasthe
examplesinthischaptershow,anytopiccanbesummarizedquicklyandclearly
usingtheGPSmethod.Thekeyistofindtheoneproblemyouwanttodiscuss
andthensummarizethat.Ifyouhavemultipleproblems,youneedtouse
multiplesummariestobesureyouraudiencedoesn’tgetconfused.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Takeanotherlookatthemultipletopicframingemailorconversationnotesyou
createdintheearlieractivities.Youshouldalreadyhaveagoodframingforthe
conversation,sothenextstepistocreatethestructuredsummaryforeachtopic
usingtheGPSmethod.Writeoutthesummaryforeachtopic.Thisprocess
shouldhelpclarifywhatyouwanttogetfromtheconversation.Itwillalsogive
youasetofnotesthatyoucantakewithyoutohelpkeepthestartofthe
conversationontrack.
SOLUTIONSAREFORWARDLOOKING
“Don’tdwellonwhatwentwrong.Instead,focusonwhattodonext.
Spendyourenergiesonmovingforwardtowardfindingtheanswer.”
–DenisWaitley
Thethirdcomponentofthestructuredsummarytechniqueisthesolution.The
solutionstatementtellsyouraudiencewhatyouwanttohappennext.Evenif
youclearlydefinethegoalandtheproblem,youstillneedaclearsolution
statementbecausewithoutasolution,youraudienceisleftthinking,“Sowhat?”
Byframingthestartofthecommunication,youraudiencewillalreadyknowthe
intentofyourmessage(e.g.,makingadecision,providingadviceorinput).The
solutionstatementinthestructuredsummaryiswhereyoustatespecifically
whatyouwanttohappennextandhowtheaudienceisinvolved.
Whyisthisimportant?BecauseItfocusestheaudienceonthesolution,onthe
pathforward,onaction.Itstopsthediscussiongettingboggeddowninthe
problem.
PROBLEMSARENEVERSOLVEDINTHEPAST
Asyou’venodoubtexperienced,peopleexplainsituationschronologically,
layingouttheeventsintheorderinwhichtheyhappened.You’veseenthis
happenintheexamplesthroughoutthisbook.Whenwecommunicateinthis
way,notonlydoesittakealongtime,ouraudienceisforcedtofocusonthe
eventsthatleduptotheproblem,thehistory.Allofouraudience’sproblem-
solvingtalentgoesintothinkingabouthowthissituationcouldhavebeen
avoided.Whilethisisgreatfromalesson-learnedandprocess-improvement
perspective,it’sterribleforsolvingtheproblem.
Whenwestartaconversationtosolveaproblem,itisrarethatwewanttospend
allourtimefocusedonhowitcouldhavebeenavoided.Insteadoffocusingon
thepast,weusuallywanttherecipientofourmessagetofocusonthefuture.We
wantthemtofocusontheactionsandnextstepsthatwillhelpovercomethe
problemandgetusclosertoachievingourgoal.
Structuredsummariesfinishwiththesolutionsothatafterthefirstminuteofthe
conversation,youcanfocusonthesolutiontotheprobleminsteadofgetting
caughtupinareviewofthehistory.
Future-lookingconversationsarepositiveconversations
Conversationsthatfocusonthecausesofproblemsareonlypositivewhenthe
goaloftheconversationistopreventtheproblemfromhappeningagain.Ifthat
isn’tthegoal,thenreviewingthehistoryoftheproblemonlyservestoremind
peopleoftheissuesandmistakesthatledtotheproblem.Thatisn’tsomething
thatpeopleusuallyfeelgoodabout.
Iamnotsayingweshouldavoidlearninglessonsorignoreopportunitiestofix
issueswithourprocesses.Iamafirmbelieverincontinuousimprovement.
However,thegoalofmostofourcommunicationistofocusontheactions
requiredtoquicklysolvetheproblem.TheGPSmethodhelpsthathappen.
Aconversationthatbeginswithastructuredsummarythatusesthethree
componentsoftheGPSmethodisfarmorelikelytobeapositiveconversation
becauseitfocusesonsolutions.
TheGPSmethoddoesn’tglossoverissues,butbyendingthesummarywiththe
solution,thefocusshiftstotheactionsthatwilladdresstheproblem.Ifworkhas
alreadybeendonetofixtheproblem,thesolutionstatementbecomesa
statementofthegoodthingsthathavealreadybeendone,onceagainfocusingon
thepositiveratherthandwellingontheproblem’shistory.
Thinkabouthowthischangestheenergyofastatusupdate.
Example:Amanufacturingplanthadanaccidentthatcausedthemtoshut
downproductionforaday.Theforemanwasreportingonthesituationto
theplantmanager.
“WewerefinishingtheBAC-15productionrunwhenthesheet-metalroller
jammed.Wehadtostoptheproductionlinewhileweworkedoutwhat
happened.Turnsoutthefeederlinesweremovedtomakeroomforthe
installationofanewmachine,andtheyweren’tputbackproperlybefore
productionresumed.Theteamsusedtheoriginalfloormarkingstoalignthe
rollers,butthelineshadn’tbeenupdatedtoaccountforthenewlayoutforthe
newmachinetofit.Whenwefoundthatout,wehadtorepaintallthefloor
markings,whichisn’taquickjob.Thesafetyguidelinebooksarealsooutof
dateandneedrevisingtoaccountforthenewlayout.Anyway,wegotitdone,
andproductionhasresumed.”
Theforemanwastryingtobebrief.Heincludedalotofdetailbutdidn’tgooff
onanytangents,andheendedwiththegoodnewsthatproductionisupand
runningagain.Despitethis,thedescriptionwasalmostentirelynegativeashe
describedthemistakesandproblemstheteamworkedthroughaspartofthe
solution.Notonlydoesthisfocustheplantmanagersattentiononthepast
insteadofthefuture,thedescriptionmakesitseemliketheproblemsallstill
existinsteadofclearlystatingthatthesolutionswerefoundandimplemented.
RewritingthisexampleusingtheGPSmethodcanprovideamuchmorepositive
status.
“WewerefinishingtheBAC-15productionrunwhenthesheet-metalroller
jammed.Wefoundandfixedthecauseofthejamandhadeverythingupand
runningagainintwenty-fourhours.We’vealreadymadechangestothe
productionlayoutandareupdatingtheprocessdocumentstomakesurethis
doesn’thappenagain.”
Thegoalandproblemarethesameinbothversions,butinthesecondversion
thesolutionisastatementaboutwhathasalreadybeendone.Theoriginalstatus
describedthesolution,butthegoodnewswasburiedinthelistofproblemsand
theircauses.Intherewrittenversion,thesolutionstatementisapositivefuture-
lookingupdate:stepshavebeentakentofixtheproblem,theproductionlineis
runningagain,andtheissueshouldn’thappenagain.
Theproblemisn’thidden,butthefocusisonthestepstheteamtooktoresolve
theissue,andthewholeupdateisfocusedonthepositives.
Ifyouneedtogiveastatusupdate,especiallyaboutanissue,focusonthesteps
alreadytakentofixtheproblem.Ifyouhaven’ttakenanystepsalready,youcan
summarizethestepsyouwilltaketosolvetheproblem.Ifyoudon’tknowwhat
stepstotake,theintentoftheconversationisprobablytogetinputfromyour
audiencetohelpfindthesolution.Thislastscenariomakesthesolution
statementsimple:“Canyouhelpmefixtheproblem?”
Keepthesolutioninapositivedirection,anditwillturntheconversationfroma
potentiallynegativewalkthroughthehistoryofaproblemintoapositive,future-
lookingcommunication.
Examples
Let’stakeanotherlookattheexamplesfromthepreviouschaptersandseehow
endingthestructuredsummarywithasolutionhelpsmaketheconversation
future-lookingandfocusedontheactionsandnextsteps.
Example#1:Samthecallcenteragentandtherefundforlostcargo
Context:I’vejustspokentotheDavisonGroup.
Intent:Canyouhelpmewithaproblem?
KeyMessage:Theydidn’tgetthelastshipmentandwantarefund.
Goal:TheDavisonGroupprepaidforalargeshipmentlastmonththat
didn’tarrive.Weneedtofixthis.
Problem:Ican’tfindtheshipment,andtherefundisabovethelimitIcan
approve.
Solution:Canyouauthorizetherefundandhelpmefindthemissing
shipment?
Thisexampleendswithaclearactionrequest(Canyouauthorizearefund?)and
arequestforhelptolocateinformationaboutthemissingshipment.Atthis
point,themanagermaysimplyauthorizetherefund.Ifso,theconversation
couldbeoverinthenextminute,andSam,thecallcenteragent,wouldhavejust
savedherselftenminutesofdescribingtheproblem’shistory.
Alternatively,themanagermaychoosetofocusonfindingthemissingshipment,
inwhichcasethereisagoodchanceSamwillhavetoanswersomequestions
aboutthestepsshehasalreadytaken.Wecan’talwaysavoidworkingthrough
thehistory,butbyusingframingandstructuredsummaries,weincreasethe
chanceofgettingaquickersolutiontoourproblemandpreventourselvesfrom
relivingthehistory.
Whateverthemanagerchoosestodo,theconversationisstillfocusedonwhathappensnext.
Example#2:ITsystemupgraderequired
Context:Ireviewedthenewinformationsecuritypolicy.
Intent:Weneedtotakeaction.
Keymessage:Ourfirewallisnotcompliantanymore.
Goal:Thenewindustryregulationsrequireustohavealevel-fivefirewall
forallecommercetransactionstokeeppaymentdatasecure.
Problem:Ourcurrentsoftwarewillonlyallowustosupportuptolevelfour.
Solution:Weneedtocomeupwiththeplanforupgradingthesoftwareand
presentittotheleadershipteamforapproval.
Thisexampledoesn’tprovideasolutiontotheproblem.Instead,itendswitha
descriptionofthestepsneededtosolvetheproblem.Theconversationthat
followswilllikelybefocusedonidentifyingwhowillcreatetheplan,howitwill
bedone,andwhen.Thedetailswillvarybasedonwhenandwherethissituation
occurs,butthekeypointisthatafterjustoneminute,theconversationisfocused
onthefuture,andtheparticipantsareabletostartbuildingtheplan.
Ineachoftheseexamples,theaudienceisawareofwhattheyshoulddonext.
Thereisnoquestionof“Whyareyoutellingmethis?”or“Whatdoyouwant
metodowiththisinformation?”Thesolutionpartofthestructuredsummary
clearlyshowswhatshouldhappennext.Whenyoustartyourconversationsthis
way,youraudiencewillbereadytoengageinthenextsteps.
Nowthatyou’velearnedhowtocreateastructuredsummaryandseensome
examples,it’stimetoputthatknowledgeintopractice.Afterall,theonlywayto
getbetteristopractice.Eventually,creatingstructuredsummarieswillbecome
secondnature.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Identifythenextimportantworkmessageyouneedtodeliver,andsummarizeit
usingtheGPSmethod.
Startbywritingouttheframingfortheconversationwithbulletpointsfor
context,intent,andthekeymessage.Thenwritethesummary,detailingthegoal,
problem,andsolution.
Youcanbuildontheworkyou’vealreadydonebyusingyournotesfromthe
activitiesinchapter2.
Framing:
Context:
Intent:
KeyMessage:
StructuredSummary:
Goal:
Problem:
Solution:
Ifthisexerciseisdifficult,reviewtheprevioustwochapters,andseeifyouare
strugglingwithoneofthefollowingcommonproblems.
Doyouhaveasingle,cleargoal?
Areyouincludingmorethanoneprobleminyourstructuredsummary?
Haveyoufocusedonthevariablesanddependenciesinsteadoftheoneproblem
youneedtosolve?
Areyoutryingtogivetheaudiencealltheinformationyouknowinorderfor
themtounderstandtheproblem?
Isyoursolutionforward-lookingandactionable?
WHENYOUHAVEASUMMARYBUTCAN’TMEMORIZEIT
Boththeframingandthestructuredsummarytechniquesaredesignedtobe
simple,easytoremember,andeasytoapply.Wheneveryoulearnanew
techniqueorapplyanewmethod,itcanbedauntingtotrytorememberallthe
parts.Ifyouhavepreparedastructuredsummaryforaconversationbutaren’t
sureifyoucanrememberit,thesolutionissimple:writeitdown,andtakeit
withyoutotheconversation.
Ifyouareworriedhowitwilllookifyouarereadingfromnotes,considerthis:
Theaudiencewillfocusmoreonthecontentofyourmessagethanhowyou
deliverit—contentandinformationmattermorethanperfectdelivery.
Mostleaders,politicians,headsofstate,journalists,andCEOsgivespeeches
usingpreparednotesandscripts.Ifitwasn’timportanttogetthecontentofa
messageright,theteleprompterwouldn’texist.
Don’tbeafraidtowritethingsdown.Youraudiencewillappreciateyoumore
whentheygetaclear,concisemessagethatmakessense.Overtime,youwill
becomecomfortablethinkingaboutandpreparingyourmessagesusingthe
framingandstructuredsummarytechniques.Youmayreachthepointwhereyou
don’tneedtowritethemdownatall.Don’tworryifthatdoesn’thappen.Istill
preparenotesaheadofconversationsbecauseoneminuteofpreparationmakes
memoreconfident.Italsoensuresmyaudiencegetstheclearest,mostconcise
messagerightfromthestart.
SUMMARY
Structuredsummariesarethemissinglinkbetweenknowingthatyoushouldbe
conciseandknowinghowtobeconcise.
YoucanusetheGPSmethodtocreateasummaryintroductiontoanywork
conversationandavoidthemostcommoncommunicationissues:divingintothe
detailtooquickly,goingoffontangents,anddwellingonthepastinsteadof
focusingonsolutions.
Astructuredsummarywillenableyouto:
Deliveranymessageinafewshortsentencesinawaythatiseasytounderstand
Leadyouraudiencethroughthekeypointsofyourmessageinalogicalorder
Finishwithapositive,forward-looking,action-orientedsolution
Nowthatyouknowhowtocreateagoodsummary,thenextstepistomakesure
youraudienceispreparedtohearit.Inthenextchapter,youwilllearntwoquick
waystocheckifyouraudiencehastheabilityandtheavailabilitytobepartof
theconversation.Thesestepswillhelpimproveyourreputationasagood
communicatorandalsoensurethatyouandyouraudiencegetthemostvalue
fromtheconversation.
Astructuredsummarycomesafterframingandfillstheremainingforty-five
secondsofthefirstminute.
CHAPTER4
TIMECHECK&VALIDATIONCHECKPOINT
“Makesureyouraudienceisreadytoreceiveyourmessage.”
–Anonymous
Conversationsinvolveatleasttwopeople,thespeakerandhisorheraudience.
Evenifyouhavepreparedafantasticfirstminuteforyourtopic,howdoyou
knowyouraudienceisreadytohearyourmessage?Youmightbeeagertostart
talkingaboutyourtopic,butdoesyouraudiencehavetimetotalkaboutitnow?
Thesimplestwaytoknowtheansweristoask,andyoushoulddosointhefirst
minute.
Therearetwokeystepstotakeinthefirstminutetoensureyoustartthe
conversationwell.
Step#1:Timecheck:Thissetsexpectationsforhowmuchtimeyouneed.
Step#2:Validationcheckpoint:Thisstepclarifiesifyouraudiencecantalk
now.
Thesetwostepscomeatthebeginningandtheendofthemessageyouhave
createdusingframingandastructuredsummary.Ifyoumissthesesteps,you
riskdamagingyourreputationwiththepersontowhomyouaretalking.Ifyou
includethem,youwillbewellonyourwaytogettingthefirstminuteright.
TIMECHECK-DOYOUHAVEAMINUTE?
Animportantstepatthestartofanyconversationistosettheexpectationfor
howlongtheconversationwilltake.
Acommonquestionusedtostartimpromptuandunplannedconversationsis
“Doyouhaveaminute?”or“Doyouhaveamoment?”
Wearegenerallypoliteatwork,andifsomeoneasksforaminute,wegiveitto
them.Wealsotendtotakeinformationatfacevalue.Ifsomeoneasksfora
minute,webelieveitwillonlybeaminute.
However,asdemonstratedthroughoutthisbook,itrarelytakeslessthana
minuteforpeopletogettothepoint,letalonecompleteaconversation.Notonly
doesittakelongerthanaminutetogettothepoint,oncewehavesomeone’s
attention,wetendtolaunchintoourtopicanddon’tkeeptrackofthetimewe
aretaking.Unlesswehaveourownreasontoleavethediscussionquickly,these
“Doyouhaveaminute?”conversationstendtocontinueuntilourintentforthe
conversationismet.Whenyouaddinthetimeittakesfortheotherpersonto
respondandcompletethediscussion,therequestedminutequicklybecomesfive
ortenminutes.
Whentheconversationdoesn’tfitintotherequestedminute,itputstheaudience
intheawkwardpositionofeitherhavingtointerruptthespeakerorchoosingto
spendmoretimethanexpectedontheconversation.Spendingmoretimeonthe
conversationcanhaveitsownconsequences,likebeinglateforanothermeeting
orhavinglessbreaktime.
THETWO-STEPPROCESSTOFIXTHE“DOYOUHAVEAMINUTE?”
PROBLEM
Ifyourtopiccantrulybeaskedandansweredwithinoneminute,thephrase“Do
youhaveaminute?”isfine.Inthemorelikelyeventthatyourtopicrequiresat
leastaminutetodescribeaswellasadditionaltimetogetaresponse,hereisa
two-stepprocessyoucanfollowtoavoidaskingforjustaminute.Followingthis
processwillresultinabettercommunicationexperienceforeveryone.
Step1:Askfortheamountoftimeyouactuallyneed
Insteadofaskingforaminute,askforasmuchtime,ormoretime,thanyou
thinkitwilltaketohavetheconversation.Don’taskforaminuteifyouknow
you’llneedfiveortenortenminutestocoverthetopic.
Partofcommunicatingclearlyinvolvesmanagingyouraudience’sexpectations.
Don’ttellthemsomethingwilltakelesstimethanyouneed.Ifyoudo,youare
settingyourselfuptomissaself-imposeddeadline.Thisharmsyourreputation
asacommunicatorandalsoasaneffectiveworker.Ifyoucan’tmeetatimeline
yousetforyourself,othersmaydoubtyourabilitytodeliveragainstother
deadlines.Attheveryleast,youmightirritateyouraudiencebecausetheyreally
onlyhadoneminutetospare.
Step2:Gettothepointquickly
Havingsettheexpectationthatfive,ten,ormoreminutesareneeded,and
assumingthepersonyouarespeakingtoagreestotalk,don’twastethesmall
amountoftimeyouhave.Useframingandastructuredsummarytogetyour
messageacrossinlessthanaminute,andallowmoretimeforthediscussionyou
reallywanttohave.
Givingaclear,concisemessageusingastructuredsummaryprovidesmoretime
foryouraudiencetorespond.Thisiswhereyougetthemostvaluefromthe
discussion,whentheotherpersonishelpingachievetheintentyouhadforthe
conversation.
Thisprocessrequiresyoutothinkaboutyourtopicandtheconversationbefore
ithappens.Thisdoesn’tmeansittingandthinkingforhalfanhourbeforeevery
conversation.Ittakeslessthanaminutetothinkthroughyourmessage,to
identifywhatyouwanttoachieveintheconversation,andestimatehowlongit
mighttaketogettheansweroroutcomeyouareseeking.
Investingoneminutetoprepareforaconversationistimewellspent.Youwill
getthatminutebackmanytimesoverwhentheconversationyouhaveisclear,
andyourmessageisdeliveredefficiently.
VALIDATIONCHECKPOINT-ISNOWAGOODTIME?
Afterthetimecheck,deliveryourframingandstructuredsummary.Thiswill
giveyouraudienceagreatintroductiontotheconversationyouwanttohave.
Eventhoughtheyhavealreadyagreedtotalktoyouaspartofthetime-check
step,youshouldverifythatyouraudienceisabletoengageintheconversation
aftertheyhaveheardtheadditionalinformation.
Forsomeonetohelpyouwithyourproblem,thepersonmusthavetheability
andtheavailabilitytodoso.
Ability–theknowledge,access,orauthoritytohelpwithyourrequest
Availability–thetimeandthedesiretohelp
ABILITY
Ifthepersonyouarespeakingtodoesn’thavetheabilitytohelpyou,itis
importanttofindoutquickly,soyoudon’twastetheirtimeoryours.Thereis
littlevalueinspendingtenminutesdescribingyourproblem,onlytohaveyour
audiencesay,“Ican’tauthorizethat.YouneedtotalktoNaveed.”Whilewe
oftenthinkweknowtherightpersontospeakto,weshouldneverassumeour
audiencehastheabilitytohelpwithourproblem.
AVAILABILITY
Manyworkconversationsarenotscheduled.Youmightstopbysomeone’sdesk,
callthem,orstarttalkingwhenyoubumpintothemaroundtheoffice.Unless
youareusingascheduledmeeting,youareunlikelytoknowiftheyhavethe
timetotalkaboutyourtopicwhenyoustarttheconversation.Thepersonyou
arespeakingtomightneedtimetoprepareorhaveotherthingstodothatare
morepressingatthatmoment.Ifyouhavestoppedsomeoneinthecorridor,they
werealreadyontheirwaysomewhere,perhapstoameeting,totakeabreak,or
oneofmanyotherpossibledestinations.Ratherthanassumingtheyhavethe
time,askiftheydo.Thisisakeyreasonforincludingthevalidationcheckpoint.
Whenwearepreparedtospeaktosomeone,wetendtoassumetheotherperson
isequallypreparedtospeaktous.Thisisespeciallytruewhenweareexcited
aboutatopicorwefeelasenseofurgencyaroundit.Unfortunately,thepeople
wewanttotalktomaynotfeelthesamelevelofinterestorurgency.Usinga
validationcheckpointensuresyouarebothequallypreparedtoengageinthe
conversation.
TRAPPEDINACONVERSATION
Itiseasytostartaconversationwiththefalseassumptionthatyouarespeaking
totherightperson.
Haveyoueverfoundyourselflisteningtoacolleaguewhohasn’tquitegottothe
question,butyoualreadyknowyouarenottherightpersontohelp?Maybethe
personspeakingassumesyouknowananswer,butyoudon’t.Perhapstheywere
givenyournamebysomeoneelse,butyouaren’ttherightperson.Whenthis
happens,youbecomestuckinaconversationthatisn’tvaluableforyouorthe
personaskingyouforhelp.Thisismadeworseiftheotherpersonisnotableto
quicklyandclearlygettothepoint.Listeningtosomeonedescribethehistoryof
aproblemisparticularlyfrustratingifyouknowthereisnothingyoucandoto
helpthem.
Ifyouareonthereceivingendofthistypeofconversation,youhavelimited
optionsforhowtorespond.
Youcaninterruptandletthepersonknowyoucan’thelp.Thisispresumptuous
becauseyoumayhavemisinterpretedtheirintentions,whichwouldhavebeen
clearerhadtheygottotheendoftheirlongdescription.Itmayalsobeseenas
impolite.
Youcanwaitforthemtocompletetheirdescriptionandthentellthemyouaren’t
therightpersontoanswerthequestion.Thisismorepolite,butitcostsyouand
yourcolleaguetimethatcouldbebetterspentfindingtherightpersontohelp
solvetheirproblem.
Whileyoucannotpreventotherpeoplefromtakingyourtimeinthisway,you
canavoidcausingitwhenyouasksomeoneelseforhelpbyaddingavalidation
checkpointattheendofthefirstminute.
MAKESUREYOUUSEVALIDATIONCHECKPOINTS
Forsomeonetoassessifheorshehastheabilityandavailabilitytohelpyou,the
personneedstoknowenoughaboutthetopictounderstandwhatyouneedand
howurgentitis.Agoodfirstminute,usingframingandastructuredsummary,
willprovideenoughinformationforyouraudiencetodothis.
Givingclearinformationisagoodstart,butitisn’tenough.Youraudiencemust
havetheopportunitytochoosetocontinueorleavetheconversation.Youcando
thisbysimplyaskingthem.Icallthisavalidationcheckpoint,andithelps
ensuretheconversationstartsinthebestwaypossible.
Ifyoudon’tincludeavalidationcheckpoint,youareputtingyouraudienceinthe
positionofhavingtowaitforyoutofinishalongintroductionorinterrupting
youtoletyouknowtheycan’ttalkrightnow.Eitherwayyouriskwastingtime
talkingtothewrongpersonortalkingtosomeonewhoisn’tpreparedtohavethe
conversationrightnow.
Whenyoustartaconversationfocusedonsolvingaproblem,afinitenumberof
outcomesexist.Thepersonorpeopleyouarespeakingtowill:
Bepreparedtocontinuethediscussionimmediately
Notbereadytohavetheconversationatthatmoment
Tellyoutheyarenottherightpersonforthetopic(andpotentiallyredirectyou)
Wanttoclarifysomethingyousaidintheframingorthestructuredsummary
Ifyouraudienceisinanycategoryotherthanthefirstonementionedabove,
theywillappreciatenotbeingtrappedinalong-windedorconfusing
conversation.
Validatingthatyoucancontinuetheconversationiseasy.Herearesome
examplesofvalidationcheckpointquestionsyoucanaskaftergivingthe
structuredsummary:
Areyoutherightpersontohelpwiththis?
Doyouhavetimetotalkaboutthisnow?
DoyouhaveanyquestionsaboutwhatIjustdescribed?
Eachofthesequestionsprovidesyouraudiencewithachancetoadviseyouif
theycannotcontinuetheconversation.
WHENTOADDTHEVALIDATIONCHECKPOINTS
Thevalidationcheckpointcanbeusedaftertheframing,orattheendofthe
structuredsummary.Thereareprosandconstoeach.
ValidatingafterFraming(butbeforesummary):
Pros:Quicklyallowsyouraudiencetoendtheconversationiftheyarenotthe
rightpersontohelporiftheydon’thavethetimerightnow.
Cons:Youraudiencehaslimitedinformationtoassesstheurgencyofthetopic.
Theymaynotfullyunderstandwhatyouneedbecausetheyhaven’theardthe
goal,problem,andsolution.
Validatingafterthestructuredsummary:
Pros:Youraudiencehasenoughinformationtounderstandtheproblemandthe
request.
Cons:Ittakeslongertogettothevalidationcheckpoint.Whileaminutemaynot
seemlikealongtimetowait,itcanbeifyoustoppedthepersonontheirwayto
anothermeetingortothebathroom!
Wheneveryouchoosetoaddthevalidationcheckpoint,thissimplestepgives
theotherpersonachoicetoprioritizetheconversationyouwanttohaveagainst
theotherthingsdemandingtheirtimeandattention.
WhatifIdon’tknowtherightpersontotalkto?
Sometimesyoudon’tknowwhotospeaktoaboutyourtopicorproblem.Inthis
casethefirstproblemyouaretryingtosolveislocatingtherightcontact.This
meanstheframingandstructuredsummaryforyourconversationshouldbe
focusedonfindingthepersontohelpwithyourissueratherthanbeingfocused
ontheissue.Itisasmallbutimportantdifference.
Inthiscase,theprinciplesofframingremainthesame.Youstillusecontext,
intent,andkeymessage.
Example:
Context:I’mlockedoutofthesalessystem.
Intent:Canyouhelpme?
Keymessage:DoyouknowhowIcanresetmypassword?
Thepersonyouspeaktoeitherknowstheanswerandprovidestheinfoyouneed
ordoesn’tknowtheanswer.Ifthepersondoesn’tknowtheanswer,heorshe
mightsuggestsomeoneelseyoucanspeakto(e.g.,“TalktoAnna.Sheknowsall
thetrickstohandlingthatsystem.”),aresourceyoucanlookat(e.g.,“Haveyou
lookedattheIThelpdesk?”),oranynumberofothersuggestions.
Ifyoudon’tgetthesolutionthefirsttimeyouasksomeone,usethesame
framingmessagewiththenextpersontowhomyouspeak.
Ifyouarestrugglingwiththissituation,andyoufindyourselfwantingtoinclude
moreinformationaboutwhatyouaretryingtodoandwhy,thinkabouthowyou
askastrangerfordirections.Doyougivealongbackstory,ordoyoukeepthe
conversationasshortaspossible?
Iknowmypreference:keepitshort,getthehelpyouneed,saveeveryonetime.
SUMMARY
Makingsureyougettheengagementyouwantinaconversationrequires
expectationmanagementandvalidationthatnowistherighttimetotalk.
Toavoidnegativelyimpactingotherpeople’sschedulesandtheiropinionofyou,
makesureyoudothefollowing.
Askfortheamountoftimeyouactuallyneed.
Gettothepointquicklyandclearlyusingframingandastructuredsummary.
Don’tassumeyouraudiencehastheabilitytohelpsolveyourproblem.Ask
themiftheydo.
Giveyouraudiencethechoicetocontinueorleavetheconversation.
Beingsensitivetothetimeconstraintsofothersandbeingconciseinyour
messagearehabitsthatallgreatcommunicatorsdevelop.Addthetimecheck
andvalidationcheckpointtoyourfirstminute,andyouwilltrulygetthefirst
minuteright.Dothis,andyourcolleagueswillappreciateit.
Uptothispoint,thisbookhasfocusedprimarilyonverbalcommunicationand
conversationsinsteadofemails,meetings,presentations,orspeeches.Inaddition
totalkingtopeople,muchofourcommunicationatworkhappensviaemailand
inmeetings.Thenextchaptercoverstheapplicationofframingandstructured
summariesindifferentcircumstances.You’llseehowthetwotechniquescan
helpyougetthefirstminuterightinmanyworkplacecommunicationsituations,
includingemails,meetings,interviews,statusupdates,andthoseawkward
situationswhereyouareunexpectedlycalledontogiveanupdate.
CHAPTER5
APPLYINGtheTECHNIQUESINDIFFERENT
SITUATIONS
Asnotedearlier,thetechniquesdescribedinthisbookarerelevanttomorethan
justconversation-basedcommunication.Emails,meetinginvitations,escalations,
presentations,andeveninterviewscanbenefitfromthesesimpletechniques.
Thischaptershowshowtoapplytheframingandstructuredsummary
techniquesinthefollowingsituations:
Emails
Meetinginvitations
Statusupdates
Unexpectedquestions
Escalatingissues
Deliveringpositivemessages
Introducingpresentations
Instant-messagingplatforms
Interviewanswers
EMAILS
AstudyofemailhabitsbyAdobefoundthatemailcontinuestobethepreferred
waytoengagewithcoworkers.⁸Thirty-ninepercentofrespondentsusedemail
astheprimarymethodtoaskcoworkersaquestion,and57percentuseditasthe
mainwaytoprovideastatusupdate.
Whileemailmayhavereplacedconversationastheprimarymeansof
communicationatwork,ithasn’tchangedtheneedtobeclearandconcise.
Luckily,theframingandstructuredsummarymethodscanbeappliedinthe
samewayforemailsastheyareforconversations.Thiscanreducethelengthof
anemailandgreatlyincreasetheclarityofthemessage.
HOWTOUSEFRAMINGANDSTRUCTUREDSUMMARIESINAN
EMAIL
Ageneralformatforapplyingframingandstructuredsummariestoanemailis
thefollowing:
Contextgoesinthesubjectline.
Intentcangointhesubjectlineorinthefirstlineoftheemail.
Yourkeymessageshouldbestatedinthefirstlineoftheemail.
Thegoal,problem,andsolutionarelabeledbulletpointsorseparateshort
paragraphsinthemainmessage.
Example:
To:Diane@work.com
Subject:Websiteupdates–prioritydecisionneeded
HiDiane,
Canyouhelpmewithapriorityorderdecisionforthewebsitedevelopment
team?
Goal:Theproductteamhasaskedustofixaproblemwiththeloginscreenon
thewebsite.Thisisanurgentrequestbecausecustomersarecallingand
complainingtheycan’taccesstheiraccounts.
Problem:Wehavelimitedresourcesonourteam,andanotherpieceofwork
wouldhavetomovetoalaterdeliverydateforthischangetooccur.
Solution/Request:Canyouhelpmeunderstandthepriorityforthefollowing
items?Whichonecanbedelayed?
Item#1:Layoutchangesforsidebarmenusonthehomepage
Item#2:AutomatethegenerationofthePDFs
Item#3:Addaquestionformtothecontactpage
WehaveuntilFridaytodecideonwhattodelay,soyouhaveacoupleofdays.
Pleasecallmeifyouhaveanyquestions.
Thanks,
Chris
Alltheelementsofframingandstructuredsummaryarepresentinthisemail.
Framing:ThefirsttwentywordsshowDianewhattheemailisabout.The
contextisprovidedinthesubjectline,alongwiththeintent.Theintentis
restatedinthefirstline,andthekeymessageisalsointhefirstline.
StructuredSummary:Thegoal,problem,andsolutionarelabeledbullet
pointsandstandoutinboldfont.Blanklinesbetweeneachitemhelp
differentiatethepoints.
Whencreatingthebodyofyourownemails,youcouldchoosetoleaveoutthe
bulletsandjusthavesentencesforeachsectionofthestructuredsummary.
However,theuseofbulletswithboldfontshowinggoal,problem,andsolution
isafoolproofwaytoensureyourreaderknowswhyeachpieceofinformationis
included.
Oneotherelementisincludedintheexample.Thesolutionbulletislabeled
“solution/request.”Theadditionoftheword“request”helpsclarifytheintentof
thebullet.IfDianeonlyscannedtheemail,shewouldseetheboldedwords,and
theword“request”wouldstandoutbecauseit’sacalltoaction.
Dianemayneedmoreinformationforeachoftheitemsbeforeshecanmakea
decision,andtherecouldbefollow-upemailsorphonecalls,butatleastshehas
acleardescriptionofwhatneedstobeachieved,theproblem,andthepathto
resolveit.
Whileitisimportanttouseeveryopportunitytostrengthenrelationships,the
majorityofworkemailistransactional.Unlikeverbalconversation,thereisn’t
oftenaneedforrelationshipbuildingandpleasantriesinworkemail.Thismeans
therecipientwill,moreoftenthannot,valueamessagethatgetstothepoint.
SOMEEMAILSDON’TNEEDASTRUCTUREDSUMMARY
Everyemailshouldbeframedwiththesubjectlineandthefirstlineoftheemail
providingcontext,intent,andthekeymessage,butnoteveryemailneedsto
includeasummaryusingtheGPSmethod.Forexample,ifyouareaskingaone-
linequestion,replyingtoamessage,participatinginagroupemaildiscussion,or
providingfeedback,thereisn’tusuallyaneedtowriteastructuredsummary
usingtheGPSmethod.
Formorecomplextopics,thefirstemailsentshouldhaveastructuredsummary
toensurethetopicisclear,butsubsequentemailsinresponsetotheoriginal
messagedon’tneedasummary.Thinkofemailchainsasaconversation.The
responsesfromeachparticipantflowbackandforthnaturallywithouttheneed
foraformalstructureeachtime.
Theexceptiontothisruleisifalongemailchainhasbecomeconfusingoris
mixingupmultipletopics.Emailchainscaneasilyextendtotenormoreemails,
andwhenmultiplepeoplearepartofthediscussion,thenumberofrepliesinthe
chaincangetevenhigher.Whenthishappens,theconversationcandriftaway
fromtheoriginalgoal,andnewordifferentproblemscanbeintroduced.Thisis
especiallylikelywhennewpeopleareaddedtotheemailchainpartwaythrough
theconversation.
Thisisthetimetouseastructuredsummaryinthemiddleofthechain.Ifthe
purposeoftheconversationisnolongerclear,orthenatureofthegoal,problem,
orsolutionhavebecomemuddled,youshouldincludeastructuredsummaryin
yournextreply.Attheveryleast,someonewillconfirmifyourown
understandingofthesituationiscorrect(ornot),butwhatismorelikelyisthat
youwillfindothersaregratefulfortheclarificationandtherefocusonthe
problemtosolve.
Ifanemaildiscussionhasbeengoingonforalongtime,andthepurposeisn’t
clear,tryreplyingwiththefollowingformattoclarifywhatthediscussionis
reallyabout:
Hifolks,
I’vebeenfollowingthediscussionandwouldliketoclarifythegoalweare
tryingtoachieve.Canyouletmeknowifthissummaryisaccurate?
Goal:[Insertyourunderstandingofthegoalhere]
Problem:[Insertyourunderstandingoftheproblemhere]
Solution:[Insertyourunderstandingofthesolutionhere]
Thanks,
Ifyouareinthemidstofoneofthesechains,don’tsitbackandacceptthe
confusion.Instead,takeasimplestep,andbetheonetobringclaritytothe
conversation.Summarizethetopic,andgetagreementfromthegroupthatyour
summaryisaccuratebeforeallowingtheconversationtocontinue.
Ideally,anemailchainwithlotsofreplieswillbestoppedandthediscussion
movedtoaphonecallorface-to-faceconversation.Inthatevent,themeetingor
phonecallshouldstartwithastructuredsummarytoensureeveryonehasthe
sameunderstandingofwhattheconversationisabout.
FORWARDINGEMAILCHAINS
Thereisonesituationwhenitisalwaysagoodideatoincludeastructured
summaryinanemailchain,andthatiswhenforwardingemailchains.
Ifyouaresendinganemailchaintosomeonenew,don’tmaketherecipientdig
forinformationorguesswhyyouaresendingittothem.Youshouldn’texpect
themtoreadthewholethingfromthebeginningeither.
Imagineifsomeonepassedyouinthecorridor,shovedastackofpapersinto
yourhands,andsaid,“Readthis,”andthenwalkedaway.Howhappywouldyou
bewiththatinteraction?Wouldyoubeinclinedtoreadtenpagesofnotestofind
outwhatthemessageis?Myguessisyouwouldn’tbepleased,youprobably
wouldn’treadthepapers,andyourimpressionofthatpersoncertainlywouldn’t
goup.
Mostpeoplecouldn’timaginedoingthis;it’srude.Yetthisisexactlywhat
happenswhensendinganemailstringtwentyemailslongandstartingitwitha
messagethatsays“FYI,”“seebelow,”or“Ithoughtyoumightneedtoknow
this.”
Whenforwardinganemailchain,writeyouremailasthoughyouarestartinga
newconversation,becauseyouare.Providecontext,haveaclearintentfor
sendingtheemail,clearlystatethekeymessagetherecipientneedstoknow,and
summarizetheinformation.Don’tmaketherecipientdigforinformation.
Withoutasummary,thereisahighchancetherecipienteitherwon’treaditor
willnotgetthespecificpointyouwantthemtoget.
Whetheritisforinformation,anescalation,ortoaskaquestion,aforwarded
emailchainshouldalways,alwaysincludeasummaryfromyou.
LONGEREMAILS
Emailsshouldbeshortandtothepoint.Despitethiswestillsendandreceive
messagesthataremanypageslong.Themerethoughtofreadingpagesofemail
textmakesmyeyesglazeover.Weskipovertheseemailsinourinboxes,
promisingourselveswe’llreturntothemwhenwehavemoretime.Somepeople
simplywon’treadanemailthatspansmultiplepages.
Long,unbrokentextishardertoread.Ifyouraudienceisfacedwithapageof
densetext,itmakesthemlesslikelytoreaditbecause:
Theemaillookslikeitwilltakealongtimetoread.
Thereisnoindicationofurgencyforwhytheyneedtoreaditimmediately.
It’shardtoseethedifferentsections.
There’snofocusfortheirattention;it’snotclearwheretheyshouldlook.
Apagethatispurelytextrequiresyouraudiencetostartatthetopandworktheir
waydownlinebylinetofindthekeyinformation,callstoactions,andsoon.
Thistakestime,andwithhundredsofotheremailsvyingfortheirattention,the
long,text-densemessageswillgotothebottomofthelist.
Thesimplestwaytobreakupablockoftextandmakeiteasiertoreadistoadd
headings,bullets,andwhitespace.Thisiswheretheframingandstructured
summarytechniquesprovideyetanotherbenefit;theyprovidetheheadingsand
bullet-pointstructuretocreateaclearmessagethatisvisuallyeasytoconsume.
Readthefollowingtwoemails.Theycontainexactlythesamecontent,butthe
secondonehasheadingsforthekeymessageandforeachpartofthestructured
summary.Email#1looksshorter,butitismuchhardertoquicklyidentify
criticalinformation.
Note:Theexamplesuseplaceholdertext.Thisisdeliberate.Thepointofthese
examplesistodemonstratethevisualimpactofthestructure.
Email#1:Unstructuredcontent
Email#2:Contentstructuredusinggoal,problem,solution
Itispreferabletokeepemailsasshortaspossible,butsometimesmore
informationisrequiredtoclearlydescribethegoal,theproblem,andparticularly
thesolution.Ifyouneedtoincludealotofinformation,theprinciplesofframing
andstructuredsummarystillapply.
First,layouttheemailusingtheheadingsandstructuredescribedabove.Ifyou
needmorethanonelineorbulletunderanyofthethreeheadings(Goal,
Problem,Solution),simplyincludemorebulletsunderthatheadingintheemail.
Thegoalistostructuretheinformationinawaythatmakesiteasytoconsume
andtoleavenoambiguityastothepurposeofthemessage.
SUMMARY
Theprinciplesofframing,structuredsummary,andvalidationcheckpointsare
thesameforemailastheyareforface-to-faceconversations.Short,succinct
messageswithapauseforvalidatingthattheaudiencehastheabilityand
availabilitytorespondarecriticalforgreatcommunication.
Manypeoplefindithardtobesuccinctinthefirstemailonatopic,especiallyif
theyfeeltheinformationmustbeincludedforthemessagetomakesense.Don’t
giveintothistemptation.
MEETINGINVITATIONS&THEFIRSTMINUTEOFMEETINGS
“Ifyousendmeablankinvitation,expectablankresponse”
–Anonymous
ImagineacoworkercametoyourdeskandtoldyoutobeinMeetingRoom2at
10a.m.andthenwalkedaway.Theydidn’ttellyouwhatthemeetingwasabout
orexplainwhyyouneededtobethere.
Howwouldyoufeel?Wouldyougotothemeeting?
Itishardtoimaginethishappeningveryoften,andyetthisoccurseverydayto
tensofthousandsofpeoplewhentheyreceivemeetinginvitationsatworkthat
areeitherblankorcontainlittleinformationaboutthemeeting.
Notonlyareblankmeetinginvitationsrude,theyareamajorcauseof
inefficiencyatwork.AstudybyLudicMeetingshowsthattheprimaryreason
whymeetingsareunproductiveisthatthepurposeofthemeetingisn’tclear.
Thestudyreportsthatonlyoneintenpeoplealwaysunderstoodthepurposeof
theirmeetings.Athirdofrespondentsonlysometimesknowthepurposeofthe
meeting,andalmostoneinsixrarelyorneverknowwhatthemeetingsare
about.AdifferentstudybyBainandCoreportsanaverageof15percentof
everyworkingdayisspentinmeetings.¹ Thatfigureincreasesto35percentor
moreformanagersandexecutives.
Theamountoftimewespendinmeetingseachday,andthelackofclear
purposeforthem,adduptonumerousmeetingswheretheattendeesdon’tknow
whytheyarethere.Despitethis,blankmeetinginvitationsorinvitationswith
littletonoinformationinthemareafactoflifeinmostcompanies.
Thegoodnewsis,aneasyfixforsomeofthemaincomplaintswehaveabout
meetingsisreadilyavailable.Usingamodifiedversionofframingandincluding
astructuredsummaryineverymeetinginvitationwillensuretherecipientsof
invitationswillalwaysknowwhatthemeetingisaboutandwhytheyarebeing
askedtoattend.
PROVIDEACLEARPURPOSEINYOURINVITATIONS
Ifthepurposeofameetingisn’tclearwhensomeonereadsaninvitation,they
won’tknowwhytheyareinvited.Italsowon’tbeclearifanypreparationis
needed,anditwon’tbeeasytoprioritizethemeetingagainstanythingelse
happeningthatmightbebookedforthesametimeslot.
Meetinginvitationsaretheequivalentofthestartofaconversation.Asthe
exampleatthestartofthissectionshowed,youwouldn’twalkuptoacoworker
andtellhimorhertobeinaspecificlocationatacertaintimewithoutproviding
somecontextandareasontobethere.Ifyouwouldn’tdoitinperson,don’tdoit
inelectroniccommunicationeither.
Everyonewhoisinvitedtoameetingwantstoknowthepurposeofthemeeting
andwhatwillcomeofit.Theoutputcanbeadecision,amore-informedgroup
ofpeople,alistofideas,solutions,andsoon.Whatevertheexpectedoutput,it
shouldbecleartoeveryattendeewhattheywillproduceintheirtimetogether.
Framingisagreatwaytostartaconversationinperson,andbyreplacingthekey
messagewithtwonewelements,framingcanworkformeetinginvitationstoo.
Context:Includeitinthesubjectline.
Intent:Includeitinthesubjectline.
KeyMessageisreplacedbytwonewitems:
Meetingpurpose:Onelinedescribingwhatthemeetingisfor.
Meetingoutput:Onelinestatingtheexpectedoutcomeoroutputofthe
meeting.
Additionalinformationcanbeprovidedinastructuredsummaryafterthe
meetingoutputline.Thiswillprovideaconcisesummaryofthemeetingtopic
andhelppeopleprepareforthediscussion.
Example#1
To:colleagues@work.com
Subject:Newprojectkick-off–needtoidentifypeopletoworkonit
(Thetextbelowgoesintothebodyoftheinvitation)
MeetingPurpose:Tokickoffanewsoftwareupgradeprojectandidentify
resourcestoworkonit.
MeetingOutput:Ashortlistofthepeopleneededtoworkontheproject.
AdditionalInformation:Structuredsummaryshouldbeincludedhere
Example#2
To:colleagues@work.com
Subject:Health-and-safetyrulechange–weneedtoprepareforthe
changes
(Thetextbelowgoesintothebodyoftheinvitation)
MeetingPurpose:Toreviewthehealth-and-safetyguidelinechangesand
createaplantoimplementtheminourdepartment
Meetingoutput:Alistofactionsforustoimplementthenewhealth-and-
safetyguidelines.
KeyMessage/Summary:ThecompanyHQhassentoutnewhealth-and-
safetyguidelines.Wehaveonemonthtopreparebeforethenewrulesare
enforced.Thechangesarenotsignificant,butweneedtomakesureweare
ready.
AdditionalInformation:Structuredsummarymayormaynotbeincluded
here.
Thepersonsendingthesecondexamplechosetokeepthekeymessageinthe
framinginadditiontothemeetingpurposeandmeetingoutput.Thisgivessome
backgroundinformationthatmayhelpinviteesunderstandthesituationbetter.It
isahalfwaystepbetweenincludingnoadditionalinformationandincludinga
structuredsummary.Youmaychoosetodothisinsteadofaddingafull
structuredsummaryiftheinformationinthekeymessageissufficienttoensure
theinviteeshaveaclearunderstandingofthemeeting.
Astheseexamplesshow,itdoesn’ttakemuchtoproviderecipientswithenough
informationtounderstandwhytheyareinvited.Inonlytwoorthreebullet
points,youcanprovidegoodintroductorycontent,definethepurposeofthe
meeting,andensuretheinviteesknowwhytheyareinvited.
Tip:Whenusingthestructureabove,keeptheboldedwordsintheinvite.
Theyguidereadersthroughthemessageandmakeiteasiertounderstand.
Whataboutthetimecheckandvalidationcheckpoints?
Neitheratimechecknoravalidationcheckpointareneededinanelectronic
meetinginvitation.
Inface-to-faceconversation,atimecheckisneededtogivetheaudiencean
optiontodefertheconversationtoalatertime.Thisisn’tneededinmeeting
invitationsbecausetherecipientscanchoosetolookattheinvitationwhenever
theywantandcanreturntoitatalatertimeifneeded.
Thevalidationcheckpointisn’tneededeitherbecausetheresponsetothe
invitationservesasitsownvalidation.Therecipientwilleitheraccept,decline,
orrespondastentative.Theymayalsoaskquestionsifneeded.
Whataboutagendas?
Conventionaladvicesaysallmeetingsshouldhaveanagenda.Ifameetinghas
onepurpose,andthatpurposeistosolveaspecificproblem,aninvitationthat
includesthemeetingpurposeandthemeetingoutputistheagenda.Addinga
formalagendaonlycreatesmoreworkforthepersonsettingupthemeetingand
isanotherdocumentthatinviteesneedtoread.
Ifameetinghasmultipletopics,thereisvalueinhavinganagendatoshowthe
topics.Ifeachtopichasadifferentspeaker,anagendacanhelpshowtheorder
thetopicswillappearinthemeeting.Evenwithanagenda,theprinciplesof
framingstillhold.Meetingshavecommonthemes,evenifthetopicsdiscussed
arevaried.Theframingfortheinvitationshouldrelatetothecommontheme
and,ifappropriate,eachtopicontheagendacanhaveitsownframingand
structuredsummaryinthesamewaymulti-topicconversationsareframed.
Duringthemeeting,eachitemontheagendashouldbeintroducedasthough
startinganewconversation,usingalltheprinciplesandtechniquesofframing
andstructuredsummary.
IMPROVEPRODUCTIVITYWITHACLEARPURPOSEAND
INTRODUCTION
Startingameetingwellimprovesthechanceofitbeingproductive.Ifyou
includethemeetingpurpose,meetingoutputs,andastructuredsummaryinthe
invitation,youhaveaready-madeintroductionforthefirstminutesofthe
meeting.
Irecommendusingframingandstructuredsummarymethodstowritethe
meetinginvitationandthenusethatsamecontenttostartthemeeting.Even
thoughtheinformationisalreadyintheinvite,therearemultiplereasonsto
reviewitagainatthestartofthemeeting.
Noteveryonereadstheinvite.Don’tassumealltheattendeesareawareofthe
meetingpurpose.
Anyonewhodidreadtheinvitemayhavedonesowhentheyreceiveditdaysor
weeksago,andtheyprobablydon’thavethedetailintheirheads.
Aclearintroductionfocusestheattendeesonthetopicathand.
Theaudienceisaligned.Everyonehearsthesamemessageaboutthegoal,the
problemandtheproposedsolution.Youareallstartingfromthesame
descriptionofthesituation,andthishelpsremoveassumptions.
Itprovidesanopportunityforpeopletoaskquestionsandvalidateorclarifythe
goal,problem,orsolution.Ifsomethingisn’tclear,itisbettertoaddressitatthe
startofthemeetingsothateveryoneisworkingfromthesameunderstanding.
Itcalmsthenerves.Ifyouarenervousaboutleadingthemeeting,itgivesyoua
minutetoeaseintothediscussion.Youcanreadthenotesyoualreadyprepared,
soyoudon’tevenhavetothinkaboutwhattosayintheintroduction.
Bytalkingaboutthemeetingoutputandincludingthesolutionaspartofthe
structuredsummary,yougreatlyreducethetimespenttalkingthroughthe
historyofaproblem.Theattendeesstartthemeetingfocusedonsolvingthe
problem.
Ispentmanyyearsinjobsthatrequiredmetojumpfrommeetingtomeeting
withoutagap.Inthosesituations,Ineededtoshiftmentallytothenewtopicina
matterofminutes.ThiswasevenharderifIwasleadingthemeetingsbecause
myheadwasstillprocessingtheoutcomeofthepreviousdiscussionwhentrying
tostartthenextone.
Tomakethingseasier,andtopreventmixingtopicsbetweendifferentcalls,I
wouldstartallmyownmeetingswitharecapoftheinformationincludedinthe
invitation.Notonlydidthishelpmeshiftmythoughtstothetopicathand,it
alsoforcedmetowritegood,clearinvitationsbecauseIknewtheywouldbethe
scriptIusedinthemeeting.
Tip:Makemeetingintroductionseasierforyourselfbycreatingawell-structured
invitation.
DON’TFORWARDBLANKMEETINGINVITATIONS
Addingsomeonetoameetingiseasy;afewmouseclicks,andtheinviteissent.
Withtheincreaseinremoteworkingandvirtualmeetingsonthephoneorvideo,
roomsizeisnolongeraphysicallimitationtothenumberofpeoplewhocan
attendameeting.Byloweringthebarrierstoincludepeopleinmeetings,we
havefilledourcalendarswithmeetingsthatarenotalwaysrelevanttous.
Forwardingameetinginvitationisn’taproblem,butforwardingablankor
unclearinvitationis.Ifablankmeetinginvitationisforwarded,recipientseither
needtoaskthemeetingorganizerformoreinformation,ortheymustchoose
betweenignoringtherequestorattendingthemeetingtofindoutwhatit’sabout.
Eitheroneoftheseoptionswillincreasetheriskofyoubeingknownasabad
communicator.
Asanadditionalbenefit,whenyouincludeclearinformationinyourinvitations,
youwillreducethenumberofemailsyougetfrompeopleaskingwhatthe
meetingisabout.
REDUCEIRRELEVANTMEETINGSBYUSINGVALIDATION
CHECKPOINTS
Meetinginvitationsdon’tneedavalidationcheckpoint(asexplainedearlier),but
thereisalotofvalueinincludingoneatthestartofthemeetingitself.
Evenifyoudoincludeagoodintroductionanddescriptioninameeting
invitation,somepeoplewhoreceivetheinvitewon’treadthecontent.This
happensmoreoftenthanyouwouldthink.Thesearethepeoplewhoaremost
likelytositthroughthemeetingwonderingwhytheywereinvited.Thatisa
wasteoftimeforthemandawasteoftimeforyouifyoudon’tgettheinputyou
expectorneedfromthem.Thissituationcanalsodamageyourreputationasa
goodcommunicator.
Addingavalidationcheckpointafterintroducingthemeetingusingframingand
astructuredsummary,providesthefollowingbenefits.
Itisanaturalpointfortheattendeestoaskclarifyingquestionsaboutthe
purposeofthemeeting,thebackground,orthesummaryinformation.
Itallowsthegrouptoconfirmtherightpeopleareinthemeeting.
Itistheidealtimetoletpeoplechoosetoleavethemeeting.
Thefirsttwobenefitsareself-explanatory.Thethirdbenefitmakesmeeting
organizersuncomfortable.Itcanbehardenoughtogetpeopletojoinameeting
inthefirstplace,sowhywouldyougivepeopleachancetoleave?Ifyouwork
inaprofessionalenvironmentwherepeopleareaccountablefortheiractionsand
output,theneverypersonshouldbeabletodecideiftheycangetvaluefromor
providevaluetoameeting.Thekeytothisworkingistogiveenough
informationfortheparticipantstomakeaninformedchoice.
Afterdeliveringtheintroduction,givepeopletheoptiontooptoutofthe
meetingusingavalidationcheckpoint.Thesimplestwaytodothisistosay,“If
thisisn’tsomethingyouneedtobeinvolvedin,pleasefeelfreetoleave.”
Theframingcombinedwiththestructuredsummaryshouldprovideenough
informationforthepeopleinthemeetingtoassesstheirownlevelof
involvement.Thenitisuptoeveryparticipanttodecideiftheyneedtobethere.
Thismayseemcrazy;youmightthinkeveryonewouldgetupandleave.
However,whileoneortwomightdropout,mostwillstay.Thosewholeaveare
doingthemselvesandthecompanyafavorbychoosingtousetheirtimeon
higher-valueactivities.
Note:Ifreelyadmitthisapproachisn’tappropriateineverysituation.Some
teamsaretoonew,tooinexperienced,ornotawareoftheprofessionalism
requiredforthemtobeempowered.Ifyouknowthatspecificpeoplemust
beinthemeetingforanyreason,namethemashavingtostay.Youdon’t
wanttohaveakeyparticipantleavewhenyouknowheorsheisneeded.
Everyoneelsegetsthechoicetoleave.
Somepeoplearenervousaboutleavingameetingandmaychoosetostay.Ifyou
knowsomeoneisn’tnecessaryfortheconversation,youcansayyoudon’tthink
theywillgetmuchfromthemeetingandaskiftheywouldliketoleave.Always
giveaclearreason,e.g.,“Hi,Kim,wearen’tcoveringanythingrelatedtoyour
teamtoday.Youcanstayifyouwantto,butIdon’tmindifyouleave.”
Sometimestheytaketheopportunitytoleave,andsometimestheystay.Either
oneisfine.Thekeythingisyouarenotdemandingpeoplestayinyourmeeting;
therefore,noonecanaccuseyouofwastingpeople’stime.
Thisstepishelpfulwhenyouhaverecurringmeetingswherethetopicsmay
changefromonemeetingtothenext,andthewholeaudiencemaynotgetvalue
fromthetopicsinagivenweek.Usethevalidationcheckpointtogivepeople
theirtimeback,andtheywillbegrateful.
Thisattendeevalidationstephasanotherbenefit.Bymakingtheattendees
accountabilityforchoosingtostay,I’vefoundattendeeshaveagreater
engagementinthediscussion.
Shouldyouwritemeetinginvitationslikeyou’rewritinganemail?
It’suptoyouwhetheryouwanttostartthemessageinthemeetinginvitethe
samewayyouwouldwriteanemail(e.g.,startingwith“DearJohn”).Personal
preferenceandstyleplayabigpartinthisdecision.
Irecommendstartingtheinvitationwiththemeetingpurposestatementand
skippingthe“DearJohn”lines.Isaythisfortworeasons.
Mostmeetingsinvolvemultiplepeople,sopickingonenametoaddressthe
meetinginvitationtoisawkward.It’salsoimpracticaltolistalltheinviteesby
nameatthestartofthemessage.
Manypeoplereadmeetinginvitationsontheirphones.Withlimitedscreen
space,ithelpstohavethemeetingpurposeinthefirstlineofthemessage.This
increasesthelikelihooditwillbeseenandread,which,inturn,improves
attendanceandengagement.
Ifyoufeeluncomfortablewiththestructuredbutimpersonalapproachof
framing,youcanaddapersonalnoteoremail-stylemessageafterthekey
information.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Findaninvitationonyourworkcalendarthatyouhavesentforameetingthatis
comingupsoon.
Doesitprovideaclearpictureofwhatthemeetingisabout?
Doesitcontaintheelementsdescribedinthischapter?
Ifnot,rewritetheinvitationtoincludethemeetingpurpose,thedesiredoutput,
andakeymessageorsummary.
Whenyou’vewrittenit,senditasanupdatetoalltheattendees.Ifyouare
worriedaboutsendingtoomanymeetingupdates,knowthatmanypeoplewill
appreciatetheclarityoftheupdatedinvite,anditisunlikelythey’llbeannoyed
bytheadditionalitemintheiremailinboxes.Ifyoudon’twanttoupdateexisting
meetinginvitations,makesureyouusethisformatinthenextmeetinginvites
yousend.Youcan’tfixthepast,butyoucanmakeapositivechangeforthe
future.
SUMMARY
Meetingsareachallengeatwork.Alltoooftenwereceiveinvitationsthatare
blankorunclear.Wealsoexperiencemeetingsthatstartwithoutaclear
introduction.Meetinginvitationsarethestartofanewlineofcommunication
andshouldbeframedandsummarizedinasimilarwaytostartingaface-to-face
conversation.
Usecontext,intent,meetingpurpose,andmeetingoutcomeheadingsinyour
invites.Ifyouuseanagenda,makesureeachtopicisframed.
Thenexttimeyoufindyourselfabouttohit“send”onameetinginvite,pause,
lookatthecontent,andconsiderusingtheformatdescribedabove.Ifyoudo,the
peoplewhoturnupwillbebetterinformed,moreengaged,andpossiblyina
bettermoodbecauseofit.
PRESENTATIONS,ESCALATIONS,ANDOTHER
SITUATIONS
ThroughoutthisbookI’vegivenexamplesfromavarietyofscenariostoshow
howtogetthefirstminuterightindifferenttypesofworkconversationsand
communication.Despitethis,afewsituationsthataren’texplicitlydescribedcan
stillbenefitfromtheapplicationoftheframingandstructuredsummary
techniques.Thissectionprovidesguidanceonusingthetechniquesinthe
followingsituations:
Givingstatusupdates
Structuringaresponsewhenyouaren’texpectingtobeaskedaquestion
Escalatingissues
Deliveringpositivemessages
Introducingpresentations
GIVINGSTATUSUPDATES
Usingframingandstructuredsummariestogiveupdateshasalreadybeen
coveredinvariouspartsofthisbook,buthereisasummaryoftheapproach.
Eachupdaterequiresitsownframing;eitherthatoritshouldfollowthe
approachforframingmultipletopicsinthesameconversation.Frameeach
separateupdate,andensurethecontext,intent,andkeymessageareclear.
Statusupdateseitherrelatetoongoingworkorworkdoneintherecentpast.
Statusesforfutureworkarethesameasgivingastatusforongoingwork
becauseallupdatesshouldbefocusedontheactionandthenextstepstoaddress
anissueorachieveagoal.
Structuredsummariesforstatusupdatesshouldfollowthesamestepsand
principlesdescribedinthisbook.Eveniftheaudienceisfamiliarwiththe
project,theymaynotbefamiliarwiththespecificproblemaddressed.Iftheyare
familiarwiththeproblem,includeagoalandaproblemstatement,butkeep
themshort.Focusthemajorityoftheupdateonthesolutionandnextsteps.This
willhelpyoufindthebalancebetweenintroducingthetopicsufficientlysothat
theaudienceisonthesamepageasyouandnotwastingtimedescribing
somethingtheyalreadyknow.
Thelesstheaudienceknowsaboutthegoalortheproblem,thelongerthose
partsofthestructuredsummaryshouldbe.Thefocusshouldstillbeonthe
solutionbecausethat’swherethevalueofthediscussionis,butifthegoaland
problemstatementsarenotsufficientlydetailedtomatchthelevelofaudience
knowledge,thesolutionwon’tmakesense.Itisabalancingactthatyouwillget
wrongsometimes,butbyusingthevalidationcheckpoint,youraudiencewillget
achancetoaskquestionsiftheyneedmoredetailupfront.Evenifyou
oversimplifythesummary,youwillstillprovideabetterintroductiontoyour
topicthanifyouhadnosummaryatall.
FOCUSONSOLUTIONS,NOTPROBLEMS
Whengivingstatusupdatestopeopleaboveyouintheorganization,itiseasyto
givealongdescriptionoftheproblems.Trytoavoidthat.Whiletheaudience
mightappreciatetheeffortsyouandyourteamhaveputintoovercomethe
problems,theyprobablycaremoreaboutwhethertheproblemisfixed.Don’t
spendtimedwellingonproblems;focusonsolutions.
Itisequallyeasytogivelongdescriptionsofthesolution.Thisis
understandable;it’sachancetodemonstratethegoodworkyouandyourteam
didtoovercomethechallenge.Justliketheconversationwiththecarmechanic,
theaudiencewantstoknowiftheproblemisfixedyet,andifnot,whenwillit
be.Theyalsowanttoknowwhoisdoingwhattofixtheproblem.
Ifyouaredescribingafutureplanofactionasthesolutioninthestructured
summary,keepthedescriptionshort,andsummarizeonlythekeypoints.Unless
youareaskedtodoso,don’twalkthrougheverystepofaplantofixaproblem.
Giveasummary,andthenallowtheaudiencetoaskquestionsaboutthedetails.
Iftheywanttoknowmore,theywillask.
Thesameapproachistrueforupdatingpeersorpeopleatlowerlevelsinthe
organization.Givethesummary,focusonthenextsteps,andthenallowthe
audiencetoaskquestionsiftheyneedmoreinformation.
ONEMINUTEMIGHTBEENOUGH
Inmanycases,aone-minutesummaryofthestatusisallthatisneeded.
Wehavethemistakenbeliefthatstatusupdatesneedtoprovidedetailon
everythingthatwasdonetoresolveanissueordescribeallthethingsthathave
beenfixedthatmeanthecurrentstatusisgoodor“green.”Forsomereason,we
believeourmanagersorourteamsareinterestedin,orneedtoknow,everylast
detail.Thisisonereasonwhystatus-updatemeetingsoftendragonforanhour
ormore.
>>ACTIVITY<<
Trygivingyournextstatusupdateusingonlyframing,astructuredsummary,
andavalidationcheckpoint.Addnothingelse.Youmaybesurprisedathowfew
questionsyougetandhowmuchshorterthemeetingis.
WhenYouAren’tExpectingtoAnsweraQuestion
Sometimesweareaskedaquestionorareaskedtoexplainsomethingwhenwe
arenotexpectingit.Youmightbeinameetingandarecalledupontorespondto
aquestion,orsomeonestopsbyyourdeskandasksforsomething.Whateverthe
situation,beingcaughtunpreparedisnotmostpeople’sideaoffun.These
situationsoftenleadtoaflusteredandramblingresponse.
Inthesesituations,theframingandstructuredsummarytechniquescanhelpyou
deliveraclear,conciseresponse.Takeamomenttoremindyourselfofthethree
partsofframing(context,intent,keymessage)andthethreepartsofstructured
summary(goal,problem,solution),andthenworkthroughtheminyour
response.Usethestructureofthesetechniquesasaframeworkforyour
response.
Framingyourresponsehelpstoclarifyorreinforcethequestionyouwereasked.
Forexample:
Manager:“Canyoutelluswhatcausedsalestobelowerthanexpectedthis
month?”
You:“Saleswerelowerthanexpectedthismonthbecause...[Insertkey
message.][Insertgoal,problem,solution.]”
Byrepeatingthequestion,youhavenotonlyconfirmedthatyouheardit,you
havealsoprovidedthecontextandintentforyouranswer.Therestofthe
sentenceshouldbeaone-linekeymessagefollowedbyastructuredsummary
usingtheGPSmethod.
Ifyouarefacedwithaquestionliketheoneintheexampleabove,it’seasyto
feeldefensive.Afterall,you’vejustbeenaskedwhysomethingdidn’tgowell,
andhumannaturecompelsustotrytojustifythesituation.Usingastructured
summarymakesiteasiertoavoidemotionalresponsesandexcusesbecauseyou
arefocusedonthesolution.Yourresponsecanfocusonthestepstakentoavoid
aworseresultortheactionsbeingtakentoimprovetheresultinthenearfuture.
Ineithercasetheinformationispositiveandfocusedongettingabetterresult.
Asalways,thereisanexceptiontothisrule.Ifyouarecalledontospeakorare
askedaquestiononatopicthatyoudon’thaveinformationfor,youwon’tbe
abletoframeorsummarizetheresponse.Instead,behonestaboutnotknowing.
Respondwithanapologyfornothavingtheinformationavailable,andproposea
solution,suchasgettingtheinformationandsharingitatanappropriatetimein
thenearfuture(e.g.,youcanemailitaftertheconversationorgiveanupdatein
thenextmeeting).
EscalatingIssues
Escalationshappenwhenyouneedsomeonehigherthanyouintheorganization
totakeactionorbeawareofasituation.Bothofthesescenarioshavebeen
coveredinpreviouschaptersinthe“Heads-up/FYI”and“RequestforHelp”
examples.
Framingandstructuredsummariesareessentialforgoodcommunicationwhen
escalatinganissueforthefollowingreasons.
Yougettothepointfaster.
Framingandstructuredsummariesarefact-based.Thisreducesthechanceof
usingemotionandgivingexcuses,whichmakesiteasierforthepersonreceiving
theescalationtoassessthesituation.
Structuredsummariesfocusonsolvingtheproblem.Thisensurestheescalation
isn’tjustacomplaintaboutsomethingthatisn’tgoodbutactuallylaysoutaplan
thatfocusestheattentiononwhattodoabouttheproblem.
Iftheescalationisdoneverbally,createthesummaryaheadoftime,writeit
down,andtakeitwithyou.Don’tskipanysteps,especiallynotthesolution.
Thatisthekeytothewholemessageinanescalation.
Ifyouaresendinganescalationemail,followtheapproachdescribedpreviously
toensuretheemailisclear,concise,andwellorganized.
Ifyoudon’thaveanyideasforasolutiontotheproblem,meaningyouareusing
thesolutionpartofthestructuredsummarytoaskforhelp,themethodisstill
valuablebecauseitquicklyandclearlydefinestheproblemandallowsmore
timetodiscusspossiblesolutions.
DELIVERINGPOSITIVEMESSAGES
Manyoftheexamplesinthisbookfocusonnegativesituations.Thisisby
designbecausemostofourworkisaboutovercomingchallengesandresolving
problems.However,workisalsoaboutachievinggoals,andweshouldcelebrate
thoseachievements.
Evenwhenyouaresharinggoodnews,peoplehaveafinitetoleranceforlong,
ramblingexplanations.Itisjustasimportanttogettothepointquicklywhen
givingpraiseorrecognitionasitiswhencommunicatingaboutnegativeissues.
Afterall,itmeansthereismoretimetocelebrateifpeopleknowthereason
quicker.
Deliveringgoodnewsfollowsthesamerulesastalkingaboutproblems.Provide
context,makeyourintentclear,andgettothepoint.
IntroducingPresentations
Presentationsinvolveslidesorspeakingtoaroomfullofpeople,but,inmany
ways,theyaresimilartoconversations.Thereasonsforgivingapresentationat
work(otherthanforsalesandmarketingpurposes)aretogiveinformation,ask
forhelp,getfeedbackonaproposal,getadecision,andsoforth.Thesearethe
samereasonswehavemostconversationsatwork,andtheprinciplesofframing
andstructuredsummaryapplyheretoo.
Awealthofinformationisavailableonlineaboutcreatingpresentations,soI
don’tintendtoreplicateorcontradictanyofit.Thewayframingandstructured
summarieshelpistoprovideaformatyoucanusetointroduceyour
presentation.
Asyoustartyourpresentation,theaudienceneedscontext,andtheymust
understandyourintentandthepresentation’soverallmessage.Theymayormay
nothavethisinformationalreadyfromtheinvitation.Whethertheaudience
alreadyhastheinformationornot,itisgoodtogiveittothemagainatthestart
ofthepresentation.Thisensureseveryoneintheroomisstartingwiththesame
understandingofthepurpose.
Aftertheintroduction,youcanworkthroughthepresentationmaterialas
normal.Remember,thisadviceappliestoworkpresentations.Ifyouaregivinga
presentationtoentertainoryouaregivingaTED-talk-stylepresentation,these
techniquesmaynotapply.
Instant-messagingPlatforms
Manycompaniesuseinternalinstant-messagingsystemsforcommunication
betweenemployees.SomeexamplesincludeSkype,Slack,MicrosoftTeams,
Flock,andChatwork.Someoftheseapplicationsmaynolongerbearoundwhen
youreadthisbook,andothersmighthavebecomepopular.Thepointis,person-
to-personmessengerapplicationsareakeypartofcommunicationatwork.
Theprinciplesofframingandstructuredsummaryremainvalidnomatterwhat
messagingapplicationyourorganizationuses.Messagessentviathese
applicationsaremuchcloserinstyletoconversationsthantheyaretoemail.The
instantdeliveryofthecontentallowsforaback-and-forthconversationinstead
ofthecompletemessagebeingdeliveredinonego.
Youmightstartwithagreetingandafewsocialinteractioncomments,butwhen
yougettotheworkpartoftheconversation,thecomponentsoftimecheck,
framing,structuredsummaryandvalidationcheckpointarestillneeded.
Aswithin-personcommunication,themessagesyousendneedtomakeitclear
howmuchtimethechatwilltake,whatyouaretalkingabout,whatyouexpect
theotherpersontodowiththeinformation,andashortsummaryofthecritical
information.
Justbecauseinstant-messengerappsseeminformaldoesn’tmeanyoushouldbe
anylessclearinthewayyoucommunicate.Ifyoufollowtheprinciples
describedinthisbook,yourmessageswillbeclearandconcisenomatterwhat
methodyouusetodeliverthem.
FramingInterviewAnswers
Ifthereiseverasituationwhereyouwanttogetthefirstminuteright,itisinan
interviewforanewjob.Whetheryouareapplyingforanewroleinyourcurrent
organizationorapplyingsomewherenew,makingagoodfirstimpressionis
critical.Interviewsarechock-fullofopportunitiestogetthefirstminuteright,or
wrong!
Withcommunicationlistedasatop-threeskillforalmostallcompanies,thereis
nobettertimetodemonstrateyoucancommunicatelogically,clearly,and
conciselythanwhenapplyingforajob.
Luckily,interviewsprovideoneofthebestopportunitiestoharnessthepowerof
framingandstructuredsummaries.Foranywherefromthirtytoninetyminutes
inaninterview,youwillbeaskedquestionsthatstartwithphraseslike:
“Givemeanexampleof...”
“Tellmeaboutatimewhen...”
Whenfacedwiththesetypesofquestions,youdon’thavetenminutestogivethe
backstoryandcontextforyourexamples.Youneedtoquicklygettothespecific
partoftheexamplethatanswersthequestiontheinterviewerreallywantstohear
about.Unlessyouareinterviewingforajobinyourcurrentcompanywith
someonewhoisalreadyfamiliarwithyourwork,theinterviewerwillknow
nothingabouttheamazingexamplesyouwanttousetoanswertheirquestions.
Byusingframingandstructuredsummary,youcandescribeanysituationin
underaminute.Thisprovidestheperfectformattousewhengivingyour
answers.
Interviewerswanttoknowhowyouactindifficultsituationsandhowyou
overcomechallengesinajob.Whatbetterwaytoprovidethisinformationthan
byusingaformatthatquicklyoutlineswhatyouneededtoachieve,what
problemsstoodinyourway,andwhatsolutionyouimplementedtoresolvethe
problem?
FRAMING
Ittakesonlyafewsecondstopreparetheinterviewertohearyourexampleif
youframeitcorrectly.
Hereishowframingworkswithinterviewanswers.
Context:Describethesituationusinggenericterms.Don’tuseprojector
systemnamesthatmayhavenomeaningtoanyoneoutsideyourcurrent
team.
Intent:Statewhatyouneededtohappeninthesituation.
KeyMessage:Whatisthemainmessagedescribingthedifficultsituation?
Thisisusuallytheproblemorchallengethatyousuccessfullyovercame.
Theexceptiontothisiswhenyouaredescribingatimewhenyoudidn’tdo
somethingwell(someinterviewquestionsaskfortimesoffailure).Inthiscase
youcangiveasummaryofthenegativeoutcomeorfailureasthekeymessage.
STRUCTUREDSUMMARY
Afterframingtheanswer,delivertheexampleclearlyandconciselywitha
structuredsummary.
Goal:Describethegoalforthesituation.Thismaybeyourgoal,the
companygoal,orsomeoneelse’sgoalthatyouhelpedthemachieve.This
mayduplicatealittleofwhatyousaidintheframingsection,butthatis
alright.Aslongasyoudon’trepeatthesamewordsfromtheframing,itwill
helpreinforcetheinformationintheexample.
Problem:Describetheproblemthatstoppedyou,theotherperson,orthe
companyfromachievingthegoal.
Solution:Brieflydescribewhatyoudidtoovercomethedifficultproblem.Ifyou
describeaproblemthatsomeoneelsefaced,thesolutioniswhatyoudidtohelp
themsolveit.
Aftergivingasummaryinlessthanoneminute,youcanexpandyouranswerto
providemoredetailaboutthesolutionyouusedtoovercometheproblemand
achievethegoal.Aswithanyinterviewanswer,youshouldonlygiverelevant
informationandstopwhenyou’vesaidenoughtoanswerthequestion.
Hereisanexampleofaclassicinterviewquestionwithananswerusingframing
andstructuredsummary.
ExampleInterviewQuestion#1:Canyoutellmeaboutadifficultwork
situationandhowyouovercameit?
Context:Iwassigningupavaluablenewcustomer.
Intent:Ineededaseniormanagertoapprovethecontract.
KeyMessage:Noonewasavailable,andIwasatriskoflosingthebiggest
saleoftheyear.
Goal:Ineededtogetexecutiveapprovalonthefinalcontractforahigh-
valueclientbytheendoftheday.Wehadaharddeadlinetomeet,orwe
wouldlosetheclienttoourcompetitor.
Problem:Ihadtogetthecontractsignedbytheendoftheday;otherwise,
theclientwouldgotoourcompetitor,buttheexecutiveteamwasatan
offsitemeetingwithstrictinstructionsnottodisturbthem.
Solution:IcontactedtheadminassistantfortheVPofSalestoaskifthere
wasaphonenumberwecoulduseforurgentissues.Ialsocontactedmy
managerandaskedifshecouldhelp.ThenIspoketotheclienttoletthem
knowwemayneedafewhourstogetthesignatureonthecontract.Ididn’t
wanttosurprisethemifthingstooklongerthanexpected.Mymanagergot
intouchwiththeVP,andIdroveouttotheirlocationtogetthesignature
andthentookittoFedEx.Itwasclose,butwegotthecontracttotheclient
intime.
Inafewlinestheinterviewerhasasenseofwhatwashappeningandwhythis
wasadifficultsituation.Theframingmakesitclearwhatthesituationinvolved
andtheproblemthatneededtobesolved.Thestructuredsummarydescribesthe
probleminmoredetail,andthesolutionshowsthemultiplestepstakento
resolvetheproblem.Eachsentenceinthesolutionishighlevel:notangents,no
unnecessarydetail,andnorabbitholes.
Thisisacompleteanswerthatcanbedeliveredinlessthantwominutes.With
suchaconciseanswer,thereisenoughtimetoaddavalidationcheckpoint.You
couldasktheintervieweriftheywouldliketohearmoreorforyoutoclarify
anypartofyouranswer.
Bystoppingafterthesummary,theinterviewerhastheoptiontodelvefurther
intoanypartoftheanswerortomoveontoanotherquestion.Manypeoplegive
longanswersthatprovidedetailstheinterviewereitherdoesn’tneedtoknowor
doesn’tcareabout.Thiswastestimethatcouldbespentgivingmoreexamples
ofwhytheyshouldhireyou.
ExampleInterviewQuestion#2:Describeatimeyouwentoutofyourway
tohelpsomebody.
Context:Iwasonadeadlinetosubmitthemonthlyaccountreports.
Intent:Iplannedtocompletethemthatafternoon.
KeyMessage:Anewmemberofmyteam,Kerry,askedforsomehelp,andI
hadtochoosebetweencompletingmyreportsorhelpingher.
Goal:Kerrywastogiveherfirstpresentationtothemanagersthenextday.
Allthedepartmentheadswouldbethere,andKerryknewthiswasan
opportunitytostandout.
Problem:Unfortunately,Kerryhadonlyrecentlytakenoverthework.It
wasn’tgoingwellbeforeshecameonboard,andshewasnervousabout
speakingtoaroomofseniorleaderswithonlybadnewstoshare.Iknewit
wouldtakemostofthedaytohelpKerryprepare,andthatputmyown
deadlineatrisk.
Solution:Imovedalower-prioritymeetingtoadifferentdayandcleared
myschedulefortheafternoon,soIcouldworkwithKerrytohelpher
prepareforthepresentation.Shepracticedpresentingtome,werevisedthe
slidesbasedonsomeinformationIhadontheproject,andweprepared
answerstothemostlikelyquestions.Aftershewascomfortable,Iwentback
andfinishedmyreport.Ittookafewhoursofworkthateveningto
complete,butitwasworthitbecauseKerryacedthepresentation.
Inthiscase,theframingfocusesonyouandthesituationyoufaced.This
providesthecontextforwhytheexampleyouareabouttogivedemonstrates
goingoutofyourwaytohelpsomeoneelse.
ThestructuredsummaryisdifferentbecauseitdescribesKerry’sgoal,thegoal
ofthepersonwhoneededhelp,insteadofyourgoal.Theproblemsummarizes
Kerry’sproblemandalsotiesbacktotheproblemyoufaced.Unlessyouare
impactedinsomeway,youcannotsayyouwentoutofyourwaytohelp
someoneelse.ThesolutionfocusesonwhatyoudidtohelpKerryaswellasthe
solutiontotheproblemyoufaced.
PREPAREBEFORETHEINTERVIEW
Itispossibletostructureaninterviewansweronthefly,especiallyifyouare
familiarwithusingframingandstructuredsummaries.Thiscanhelpwhenyou
areaskedaquestionforwhichyouarenotprepared.Moreoften,itisbetterto
prepareforaninterviewbyidentifyingtheexamplesyouwanttouseforthe
questionsyouknowarelikelytobeasked.Whenpreparing,youshouldwriteout
theexamplesusingtheframingandstructuredsummarytechniquesandreview
themagainstcommoninterviewquestions.Youmightneedtoframeanexample
slightlydifferentlytohighlighttherelevantkeypointsdependingonwhatthe
questionasksfor.
Ifyouhaveexamplesthatwillbeusedtoanswermorethanoneinterview
question,youcanframethesubsequentanswersbyreferringtothegoaland
problemthatyoualreadydescribedinresponsetopreviousquestions.Thissaves
youtimeandhelpsyougettothesolutionpartoftheanswerfaster,whichis
whatyouwanttobetalkingaboutbecauseitdemonstratesyourabilities.
Themainchangetomakewhenapplyingthesetechniquesininterviewsisto
makeallthecontentpasttense.Insteadofstatingwhatyouneed,saywhatyou
needed.Everythingelseisstillvalid.
Interviewsareoftenstressful,high-pressuresituationsthattendnottobringout
ourbestcommunicationskills.Byusingthetechniquesofframingand
structuredsummary,youcanconsistentlygiveclear,conciseanswersthatshow
theinterviewerthatyouareagreatcommunicator.
CONCLUSION
ClearCommunicationStartsbyGettingtheFirstMinuteRight
Thefirstminuteofanyconversationiscriticaltoitssuccess.Theengagement,
understanding,andnextstepsyouraudiencewilltakecanallbedefinedinthe
firstminute.Withoutaclear,well-structuredstart,youriskconfusingyour
audience,wastingtime,andnotgettingtheresultsyouexpected.
Giveyourmessagethebestchanceatbeingunderstoodbypreparingyour
audiencetoreceiveit.Setclearexpectationsforhowmuchtimeyouneed,so
youraudienceknowsiftheyareabouttohaveathirty-secondorathirty-minute
discussion.Useframingtofocustheaudience’sattention,givingcontextforthe
topic,lettingthemknowwhatyouintendforthemtodowiththeinformation,
andthengettingtothepointquicklywithakeymessage.
Havingpreparedyouraudiencetoreceiveyourmessage,keeptheirattention
withaclearstructuredsummaryofyourtopic.Mostworkconversationsare
rootedinsolvingproblemsandachievinggoals.Summarizeyourtopicwitha
clearstatementofyourgoal.Thishelpspeopleseewhatyouaretryingto
achieve.Giveashortdescriptionofthespecificproblemthatispreventingyou
fromachievingthegoal,andthenproposeasolution,whichmaybeanactual
solutiontotheproblemorarequesttohelpfindasolution.Eitherway,make
surethesummaryfocusesonthefutureanddoesn’tdwellonthepast.
Unlessyouaregivinganentertainingorsuspensefulspeech,yourtopicshould
alwaysbesummarizedinafewlinesatthestart.Thishelpsyouraudiencesee
thewholepicture.Itdoesn’tmatterhowcomplexyourtopicis;anythingcanbe
summedupinafewlines.
Finally,don’tforgetthatcommunicationinvolvestwoormorepeople.While
youmightbereadytotalkaboutyourtopic,youraudiencemaynotbe.Make
sureyouvalidatethatyouraudiencehastheabilityandtheavailabilitytoengage
intheconversation.Givethemanopportunitytodefertheconversationto
anothertimeortoredirectyoutosomeoneelsewhocanhelp.
Thetechniquesdescribedinthisbookaresimple,butittakestime,practice,and
theapplicationofthesetechniquesinawiderangeofsituationstoget
comfortablewiththem.Itmayhelptowriteouttheframingandstructured
summaryforeachmessagebeforespeakingtoyouraudience.Itonlytakesa
minuteortwotowritethesedown,andyou’llgetthoseminutesbackmany
timesoverintheshorter,moreeffectiveconversationsyouhaveeveryday.
Overtimeyouwillfinditeasiertothinkintermsofcontext,intent,key
message,goal,problem,andsolution.Eventually,youwon’tneedtowrite
anythingdownbeforeyouuseitinconversation,althoughyoumaystillchoose
topreparesomenotesinexceptionalsituations.Istillwritemyownsummaries
whenthetopiciscomplex,ortheconversationisparticularlyimportant.Ithas
neverhurtmetobepreparedwhenitreallymatters.
Thankyouforallowingmetosharethisinformationwithyou.Usethese
techniques,andIamconfidentthatyouwillbecomeknownasagreat
communicatorbecauseyou’llhaveclearer,moreeffectiveworkconversations
thatgetresults.
RESOURCES&REFERENCES
“CostofPoorInternalCommunications–BusinessCaseforEffectiveInternal
Communications,SiemensEnterpriseCommunications,”Sept.20,2012,
https://www.slideshare.net/ldickmeyer/cost-of-poor-internal-communications-
912.
JohnBeeson,“WhyYouDidn’tGetThatPromotion,”HarvardBusinessReview,
June2009,https://hbr.org/2009/06/why-you-didnt-get-that-promotion.
E.T.Klemmer,F.W.Snyder,“MeasurementofTimeSpentCommunicating,”
JournalofCommunication,Volume22,Issue2,June1972,142–158,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1972.tb00141.x.
KristiHedges,“TheDo-Over:HowToCorrectABadFirstImpression,”Forbes,
Feb.10,2015,https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2015/02/10/the-
do-over-how-to-correct-a-bad-first-impression/#2784dc7255f6.
“WhatisInformationProcessing?”Study.com,lastvisitedSept.25,2020,
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-information-processing-definition-
stages.html.
“HowDoestheBrainProcessInformation?”Teach-nology.com,lastvisited
Sept.20,2020,https://www.teach-
nology.com/teachers/methods/info_processing/.
“BLUF,”Wikipedia,lastvisitedSept.20,2020,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLUF.
“EmailUsage–WorkingAgeKnowledgeWorkers(USTrendedResults),
SlideShare,lastvisitedSept.20,2019,https://www.slideshare.net/adobe/2019-
adobe-email-usage-study.
“TheStateofMeetingsin2020,”LUCID,lastvisitedSept.20,2020,
https://www.lucidmeetings.com/state-of-meetings-2020.
MichaelMankins,ChrisBrahm,andGregCaimi,“YourScarcestResource,”
HarvardBusinessReview,May2014,https://hbr.org/2014/05/your-scarcest-
resource.
OtherResourcesUsedInTheCreationOfThisBook
McCormack,Joseph.[Brief]MakeaBiggerImpactbySayingLess.Hoboken,
NJ:JohnWileyandSons,2014.
Frank,Milo.HowtoGetYourPointAcrossin30SecondsorLess.NewYork:
PocketBooks,1986.
Kendall,Rob.WorkStorming:WhyConversationsatWorkGoWrong,andHow
toFixThem.London,UK:WatkinsMediaInc.,2016.
Borg,James.Persuasion,TheArtofInfluencingPeople2ndEdition.Harlow,
UK:PearsonEducationLimited,2007.
Acknowledgements
Thisbookrepresentstheendoffifteenyears,learningaboutcommunication
fromsomegreatpeople.Butit’salsothebeginningofthenextexcitingjourney
asIstarthelpingotherpeoplelearnhowtobecomegreatcommunicators.This
book,andallthatitrepresents,wouldn’thavebeenpossiblewithoutthehelp,
advice,andinputfromsomanykeypeople.
Danielle,yougavemetwoofthemostvaluablegiftsofall;thetimetowrite,
andthebeliefthatIcouldcreatesomethinguseful.Howyoumanagedtofind
waystogivemetimewhilewemovedhouse,changedjobs,changedcontinents,
andlookedafterathree-year-old,Idonotknow.Thefactyoudidallthatduring
aglobalpandemicisevenmoreimpressive.Withoutadoubt,therewouldbeno
bookwithoutyou.
RobAlban,yougavemethepushIneededtostartthisnewjourney.The
teaching,training,andnowwriting,allcamefromyourinsistencethatIhad
somethingusefultoshare,thatIcouldhelppeoplebebettercommunicators,and
thatIwouldlovedoingit.ThankyouforknowingmebetterthanIknewmyself.
KimSchachtandtheeditingteamatFriesenPress,thankyoufortakingmy
wordsandmouldingthemintosomethingreadable.Thefirstroundofediting
showedmejusthowmuchIneededyourhelp,andIdonotregretit.Theadvice
andchangesyouprovidedhavemadethisabetterbookforeveryonewhoreads
it.
Thecontentofthisbookwouldbeincompleteanddisorganizedifitweren’tfor
theinputofafantasticgroupofBETAreaders.Everyonewhoreadsthisbook
shouldbegratefultoBrianChopp,AlejandraAylwin-Colmenares,Barbara
Smith,DavidKrause,PoornaRaj,HelenGreenhough,andBhargaviVaranasi.
Thankyou.
CarlosdePommes,youtaughtmethefirstprinciplesofclearcommunication.
Thoselessonsstayedwithmeforalmosttwodecadesandarethefoundationof
theideasinthisbook.
Lastly,IwanttothankthepeopleI’veworkedwithatQinetiQ,Orange,RIM,
Samsung,FranceTelecom,Peritum,InMotionHosting,andAnthem.Youhelped
melearnandtesttheideasinthisbookthroughhundredsofhours
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me.